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    perch closed The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board adopted Emergency rule FM-47-96 which closed Commercial Perch fishing on Lake Michigan, and reduced sport fishing bag limit to 5.

    Three state assessment found minimal YOY.(young of year)

    native

    Fishing Rights Lawsuit Dismissed

    MADISON, WI - Federal District Judge Barbara Crabb dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Menominee Tribe seeking unregulated fishing and hunting rights on up to 10 million acres of off-reservation land.

    NBS logo BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES
    DIVISION

    NBS (now BRD) Defends Alewife Forage Base Assessment

    The controversy continues over last March's report on forage base status at the Lake Michigan .NBS data showed alewives made up 43% of the Lake Michigan forage base biomass, and 80% of that was YOY alewives.

    In a recent article written for a Michigan anglers' tabloid, Robertson said, "Only 12% of the lake's total fish population by weight is alewife." It seems talking about fish population by weight and forage base abundance is like talking apples and oranges.

    ruffe

    "It looks like predators might not be an effective control of the initial invasion of the ruffe, at least for the first years they are exposed to them," Ogle said.

    After 1987, when the Eurasian ruffe was first discovered in North America in the Duluth-Superior harbor, a number of federal and state agencies began looking for effective control techniques.

    One idea was that native predator fish, primarily walleye and northern pike, might eat the ruffe and act as a natural population control.

    king Michigan Egg Harvest Boon
    for Anglers

    Over 15,800,000 chinook salmon eggs have been collected from weirs on Michigan's Little Manistee and Swan Rivers and another 6,726,000 coho eggs were taken from weirs on the Platte River and Thompson Creek " Wisconsin also had an excellent egg harvest.

    Michigan claims to contribute 2 million naturally reproduced smolts into Lake Michigan each year.

    laker For 1996, US Fish & Wildlife Service reports Lake Huron received 1,014,000 lake trout; Lake Michigan 2,030,000; and the Minnesota and Michigan waters of Lake Superior received 482,000.

    All fish planted were in the new 10-12 per pound size for 1996. Previously the planting standard was 20 per pound. However, a new Sea Grant study could have serious implications on this new planting project .The NY Sea Grant study of contaminants in fish tissue and the uptake of PCBs in relation to stocking size found that by changing certain fisheries management practices,PCBs can be reduced in fish tissue.

    promote sportfishing
    ny anglerThe New York Sportfishing Promotion Coordinating Committee (NYSPCC) convened by Gerry Barnhardt, New York's Fish Chief, was called to address massive declines in state license sales. Some media and grass roots sources place the declines as high as 40% over last year.

    At the other end of the basin, Illinois' sales are down 5% year to date, and those sales show an 18% decline since 1992..

    report

    GREAT LAKES TRUST GETS $5 MILLION --


    The Great Lakes Fishery Trust, which received an initial deposit of $5 million, will be used for the enhancement, propagation, protection and replacement of Michigan's Great Lakes fishery resources. It was created as part of the 1994 historic settlement regarding fish kills at the Ludington (MI) Pumped Storage plant.

    An additional $3.75 million will be received within 90 days.

    brown trout

    Browns Meet Untimely Fate

    A large portion of the Thunder Bay Brown Trout plant fed cormorants and gulls when shifting winds pushed warm water into Isaacsons's Bay just off Alpena. The browns followed millions of alewives into warm water where seabirds gorged on them.

    sportfish restoration

    SPORT FISH RESTORATION ACCOUNT PUSHES PAST $304 MILLION
    Account hits all-time high.

    Better returns on investments helped the 1996Sport Fish Restoration Account, bringing it to a record $304,536,706, a 10% increase over 1995.

    Last year's account garnered just $14.5 million from investments; this year's account earned $33.3 million.

    $20 million of the account has been set aside to fund the pending Recreational Boating Safety Improvement Act, which has not become law. If the bill (S1004) to create the act is not passed in 1996, the $20 million will remain in the Sport Fish Restoration Account, and be dispersed next year.


    
    
    
    
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