GREAT LAKES weekly FISH NEWS
Week of March 14, 1999

Lake Michigan Fishery Continues to Improve

Michigan's '98 creel survey shows harvest better than last year

During 1998 Lake Michigan anglers enjoyed another great season of salmon and trout angling. Angler effort in-creased by 3% as compared to 1997. A total of 402,376 salmonines were harvested by the charter and non-charter fisheries on Lake Michigan. The catch rate (14.1 fish per 100 angler hours) for all salmonines combined in 1998 was the second best year of the 14 year data series and was just under the 14 year high set in 1986 of 14.7 fish per 100 angler hours.

The estimated Chinook catch of 152,000 fish was the greatest harvest since 1989 and was 6% greater than last year's harvest. The numbers of coho (+2%), rainbow trout (+18%) and lake trout (+54%) harvested during 1998 also increased over 1997. The brown trout harvest declined by 56% during 1998 vs. 1997.

The Lake Michigan Chinook fishery has remained strong during the past 3 years, ranging from 4.2 to 4.7 fish per 100 angler hours.

The 1998 yellow perch harvest and catch rate continued to decline and were at the lowest levels of the data series.

The survey was again conducted by Michigan DNR's Jerry Rakoczy from the same nine Lake Michigan index ports: New Buffalo, St. Joseph, Grand Haven, Muskegon, Ludington, Manistee, Frankfort, West Grand Traverse Bay and Charlevoix.


 

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go to last week's news Ventura questions Indians' claim to sovereignty

GLSFC TO SUE EPA OVER BALLAST DISCHARGES
 

 
 

TROLLING THE WEB

Here's some new sites you may find interesting.

US Coast Guard on the World Wide Web

http://www.navcen.uscg.mil A variety of info concerning electronic navigation and communications systems.

USCG Home Page provides easy and timely access to maritime information and services.

 

National Response Center is the point of contact for reporting oil and chemical spills.

F.T. Stone Laboratory Ohio State University
1314 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212-1194, (614) 292-8949, fax (614) 292-4364.

Becoming an Outdoor Woman
For newsletter, Diane Lueck, CNR-UWSP, Stevens Point, WI 54481, toll free (877) 209-6626 or e-mail to:
dlueck@uniontel.net


 
 

BECOMING AN OUTDOORS WOMAN

1999 Schedule

  • Alabama: Oct. 1-3 Jerry DeBin - 334/242-3623
  • Alaska: May 14-16 Cathie Harms - 907/459-7231
  • Arkansas: Sept. 17-19 Phyllis Speer - 870/424-5750
  • Arizona: Apr. 23-25, Aug. 20-22 Tammy Pike - 602/644-0077
  • Alberta: Oct. 15-17 Mary Ashton - 403/349-5960
  • B Columbia: June 11-13, Aug. 27-29 Sue Fraser - 604/533-2293
  • California: TBA Sue Herrgesell - 916/653-7448
  • Colorado: May 21-23, Sept. 17-19 Lenora Lovett -303/291-7303
  • Delaware: TBA Micky Barton - 302/323-5336
  • Florida: April 16-18 Lynne Hawk - 561/625-5126
  • Georgia: Oct. 8-10 Kim Brooks - 770/784-3059
  • Illinois: Jun 11-13, Sept 10-12 Allona Mitchell - 217/524-4126
  • Indiana: Apr. 30-May 2 Jennifer Kane - 317/232-4010
  • Iowa: Sept. 10-12 Gloria Baker - 515/747-8383
  • Kansas: Oct. 1-3 Connie Elpers - 316/683-5499x107
  • Kentucky: May 21-23, Sept 24-26 Barb Pulliam - 502/564-4336
  • Louisiana: Mar. 19-21 Bill Breed - 318/343-1241
  • Maine: TBA Marilyn Tourtelotte - 207/997-3722
  • Manitoba May 7-9 Darlene Garnham 204/633-5967
  • Maryland Apr.16-18, Aug. 22-24 Nancy Smogor 301/478-2146
  • Mass. May 7-9, Aug. 27-29 Ellie Horwitz 508/792-7270x105
  • Minnesota May 21-23, Sept. 10-12 Jean Bergerson 218/327-4564
  • Michigan Aug. 27-29, Sept 24-26 Lynn Marla 517/335-3427
  • Mississippi Apr. 23-25 Georgia Spencer 601/354-7303
  • Missouri May 14-16, Sept 17-19 Mariah Hughes 573/751-4115x189
  • Montana TBA Liz Lodman 406/444-2615
  • Nebraska Oct. 1-3 Donna Trojanowski 402/332-4204
  • New Brunswick May 28-30, Jun 4-6 Tim Cameron 506/444-4689

 

  • New Hampshire TBA Laura Ryder 603/271-3212
  • New Jersey Ap 30-May 2, Sep 10-12 Laurie Pettigrew 609/629-7214
  • Newfoundland TBA Lucille O'Driscoll 709/729-6974
  • New Mexico May 14-16 Coralie Carrier 505/382-9087
  • New York Sept. 24-26 Kelly Stang 518/478-3007
  • No. Carolina TBA Mike Bogdanowitz 919/733-7191
  • No. Dakota August 13-15 Nancy Boldt 701/328-6312
  • Nova Scotia May 7-9 Susan Hruszowy 902/424-4321
  • Ohio May 21-24, Oct 1-3 Philip King 614/265-6544
  • Ontario May 7-9, Aug. 27-29 Freya Long 705/748-6324
  • Pennsylvania TBA Theresa Alberici 717/783-4872
  • Pr.Edward Is June 18-20 Dawna Gillis 902/885-3198
  • Saskatchewan June 25-27, Aug 13-15 Tina Portman 306-975-0870
  • SCI/Sables TBA Don Brown 520/620-1220
  • S. Carolina May 21-23, Oct. 8-10 Cindy Thompson 803/734-6190
  • S. Dakota Sept. 17-19 Maggie Hachmeister 605/394-2391
  • Tennessee TBA Donald Hosse 615/781-6541
  • Texas April 9-11, May 21-23, Debbie Bunch 800/792-1112 x64
  • Utah TBA Ralynne Takeda 801/538-4710
  • Vermont TBA Eric Nuse 802/241-3700
  • Virginia May 14-16 Libby Norris 757/253-7072
  • W.Virginia May 29-31, Sept 11-13 Janet Clayton 304/637-0245
  • Wisconsin June 11-13, Aug. 27-29 Peggy Kell 715/346-4151
  • Wyoming June 18-20 Helen McCracken 307/777-4531

National Contacts: Christine Thomas 715/346-4185, Diane Lueck 715/228-2070

If you don't find a BOW program near you, call your local fish and wildlife agency and ask them to bring "Becoming an Outdoors-Woman" to your area! email BOW at: cthomas@uwsp.edu

 

New group to take on politicians

Ohio's elected officials are on notice

A new statewide political coalition, the Ohio League of conservation Voters, will bind statewide hunting and fishing groups, environmental interests and organizations opposed to urban sprawl and in favor of farmland protection in an effort to hold statewide and county politicians accountable.

The new bipartisan effort should get the attention of legislators and could have a major impact on statewide issues involving the outdoors, the environment and farmland preservation.

Plans include raising $15,000 for the first year of operation, hiring an executive director and opening an office in Columbus.

Indiana loses 110,000 steelhead

by Tom Couston

Indiana's DNR has lost most of its '99 steelhead plants.

Indiana DNR hatchery personnel have been dealing with an outbreak of Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis (IPN) virus that infected 110,000 winter steelhead at the Mixsawbah Hatchery and subsequently had to be destroyed. This was done to prevent spreading the virus to the rest of the hatchery and possibly to the salmonid population as a whole. These fish were slated to be stocked in Trail Creek and the Little Calumet this April.

Winter steelhead at the Wolf Lake Hatchery in Michigan raised from the same egg lot tested negative. Skamania fingerlings at the Bodine Hatchery in Mishawaka also tested negative, as did the summer fish in Wisconsin and Illinois, all coming from the same Indiana egg lot. This would indicate the problem hopefully lies just at the Mixsawbah facility.

 

There is a "presumptive diagnosis" of IPN in the summer Skamania at Mixsawbah made by tests run at Purdue University. A positive find may result in the loss of the Chinook and coho stocks as well. John Kubisiak, Lake Michigan Fisheries biologist for Indiana, informs us that samples of the Skamania were sent to a Washington State diagnostic lab for confirmation and will take at least 21 days for processing.

Kubisiak pointed out that we need to wait for more information. Once obtained, Great Lakes disease protocols will be followed. He also pointed out that nothing at the hatchery should have been done differently, and the virus likely slipped in from broodstock that showed no outward sign of infection at the first screening.

Luckily, the second screening caught the virus before the fish were stocked.

 

New perch study

A new genetics study will be conducted on Lake Michigan yellow perch in 1999 to determine if breeding populations can be identified. The Lake Michigan Management Agencies say this is an important step for future management considerations since a stock might reproduce in the waters of one state, but range into the waters of another state where they are harvested. The study is being funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

 

 

Fish farming takes toll

Unintended consequences, unforeseen costs A report in the journal Science has re-ignited debate over aquaculture, asserting it is no environmental freebie, let alone protection for fish populations.

The Science report says it takes nearly 3 pounds of fish meal to produce 1 pound of shrimp or salmon. It also blasts shrimp farms for destroying habitats.