Fishing News- Great Lakes Region 6-9-97



`Week of June 9, 1997 --->`

Agencies with fishery management authority on the Great Lakes will gather in Ottawa, Ontario on June 10 to officially endorse an updated version of Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries, hailed as one of the world's best examples of cooperative fishery management, the landmark plan under which the Great Lakes fishery is collectively managed as an ecosystem.
Major changes to the Plan include an expanded commitment by fish managers to work together to influence all management activities which affect fish; stronger links with environmental management agencies; the establishment of a Council of Great Lakes Fisheries Agencies; and a revised mechanism to resolve interjurisdictional disputes.
Developed in 1980 by natural resource agencies with responsibility for fisheries management on the Great Lakes. The Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries'has been the blueprint by which fishery management agencies in both Canada and the United States work cooperatively to achieve common objectives.

"The Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries is the indispensable mechanism by which all management agencies work together on the Great Lakes," said Doug Jester of the Michigan DNR. "The Plan not only reminds us that the Great Lakes resources are shared by many jurisdictions, but it also puts into place mechanisms that ensure that the resource is managed as an ecosystem. Without the Plan, agencies would probably duplicate efforts, would likely work at cross purposes, and would be prone to lose sight of the fact that our natural resources do not observe political boundaries."

"The Plan not only reminds us that the Great Lakes resources are shared by many jurisdictions, but it also puts into place mechanisms that ensure that the resource is managed as an ecosystem.

Bob Beecher of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources added: "The revised Plan is the culmination of a rigorous review process that investigated any and all ways in which agencies can work together more effectively. The revised Plan strengthens an already superb working arrangement among agencies in the United States and Canada and reaffirms the strong commitment by all agencies to work together toward a true ecosystem approach to management on the Great Lakes."
The signing ceremony will take place during the Great Lakes Fishery Commission's annual meeting, at the Ottawa Sheraton Hotel, on Tuesday, June 10, 1997, at 1:30 p.m. Representatives of the following agencies will sign the revised plan:

Chippewa-Ottawa Treaty Fishery Management Authority
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
Illinois Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
New York Dept of Environmental Conservation
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Each year from 1996 through 1999, microtags will be placed in 450,000 steelhead.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources is asking anglers to assist with a study evaluating the contribution of stocked steelhead to lake and river fisheries. Anglers are asked to keep the heads of steelhead caught in Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, or any Michigan river that have a clipped adipose fin only and no other clips.
These fish may contain a coded wire "microtag" that can provide researchers with important information on fish movement patterns, growth and survival for use in future steelhead management. The marked fish have been released in Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and the St. Joseph, Muskegon, Manistee, Manistique, Sturgeon and Au Sable rivers. Each year from 1996 through 1999, microtags will be placed in 450,000 steelhead.
Anglers who catch steelhead with a clipped adipose fin and no other fin clips or maxillary (jaw) clips are asked to save and freeze the fish head, and write down this information:

Name and mailing address of the person who caught the fish

Fish length and weight

Exact location where caught (as specific as possible) date caught

Anglers can bring the fish head to any DNR office or local drop-off site. A list of DNR District Offices can be found on Page 4 of the 1997 Michigan Fishing Guide. For a list of additional drop-off sites, call the Charlevoix Great Lakes Station at 616-547-2914 or see the fisheries division section of the MI DNR internet home page .
This is one of several ongoing fisheries studies conducted by the DNR. A microtag may be found in the head of any salmon or lake trout with a clipped adipose fin and no other clips. The DNR will appreciate receiving heads collected from any of these fish.
If researchers find a microtag in the head of an adipose fin-clipped salmon or trout, the angler will receive a letter detailing the stocking location and age of the fish. Anglers who turn in micro-tagged heads from steelhead or chinook salmon will be rewarded with a fishing lure for each head turned in.
Anglers returning the fish heads with the needed information will become important partners in efforts to evaluate our fisheries. If needed, personnel at the Charlevoix Great Lakes Station will supply angling groups with bags and forms for the collection of heads from microtagged fish.
In addition, groups and individuals with an interest in providing scale samples from steelhead they have caught should contact the Charlevoix Great Lakes Research Station at 616-547-2914. Collection envelopes and details on collection techniques will be provided.

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