Updated 2023-09-01 13:14:45
Lake Michigan -> 1.0 Salmonine (Salmon and Trout) -> Diverse Salmon and Trout Community
Reporting Interval
2016 - 2021
Area
Lake Michigan
Meeting Target?
Meets
Indicator Trend
No trend
Confidence?
Medium
1.1.1 A diverse salmonine community capable of sustaining an annual harvest of 6 to 15 millions lbs
When evaluating this indicator, the Lake Michigan Committee (LMC) places emphasis on the diversity of the salmon and trout community, and whether the community is capable of sustaining harvest within the stated range. It is clear to the LMC that this indicator is being met because numerous sources of unmeasured harvest, including tributary fisheries and unmet commercial quota, are present. Recent annual Lake Michigan salmonine harvest during the 2016 – 2021 reporting period was stable and ranged from 4.78 – 5.77 million pounds (Figure 1). The LMC concludes that, when considering unmeasured components of harvest (e.g., non-surveyed stream fisheries and unmet harvest quotas), this indicator is being met because the population is capable of sustaining harvest within the stated range. Salmonine harvest trended downward between 2007 and 2015 due to stocking reductions aimed at maintaining predator-prey balance between salmonines and their preferred prey-alewives (SWG 2022). Declines in total salmonine harvest over this period are largely driven by reduced harvest of Chinook salmon. Stocking rates of salmonines, including Chinook salmon, remain relatively low due to sustained low alewife prey biomass, which has likely contributed to lower salmonine harvest from 2016-2021 (Warner et al. 2022).
Figure 1. Combined total annual harvest of salmonines—including lake trout, brown trout, Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and rainbow trout—from sport fishing, commercial fishing, research assessments, and weir returns, 1985-2021. The management target range is 6 – 15 million pounds.
Methodology
Harvest of salmonines on Lake Michigan is calculated as the weight of all salmonines harvested during sport fishing, commercial fishing, research assessment, and weir collection activities. Sport fishing harvest is estimated from lakewide angler creel surveys occurring annually from April-October and from charter boat reporting. Commercial harvest is calculated from State licensed and Tribal commercial fish reporting. Research assessment harvest is calculated from salmonines that were captured during research netting and electrofishing operations conducted by Federal, State, and Tribal agencies working on Lake Michigan. Weir harvest is calculated from the collection of salmonines returning to State operated weirs during annual spawning migrations.
Other Resources
- SWG (Salmonid Working Group). 2022. Summary of the predator/prey ratio analysis for Chinook salmon and alewife in Lake Michigan. Report to the Lake Michigan Committee. PPR Summary for Outreach_8-18-2022.pdf (glfc.org)
- Warner, D.M., R. Tingley, C.P. Madenjian, B. Turschak, D. Hanson. In Review. Status of Pelagic and Benthic Prey Fish Populations in Lake Michigan, 2021. Report to the Lake Michigan Committee.
Contributing Author(s)
- Lake Michigan Technical Committee - Salmonid Working Group