Chinook Stocking to be Increased in Lake Michigan by Indiana DNR
Eugene L. 12.19.22
Next year(2023) starting in the spring the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be increasing the Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) stockings in Lake Michigan. The Indiana DNR announced that they will increase the stocking levels of chinook salmon by 50,000 fish in the spring of 20223. This is all in accordance with the Lake Michigan Committee agreement to increase Chinook salmon stocking all across the lake. This bump up of 50,000 salmon will increase the annual production target for Chinook salmon from 225,000 fish up to 275,000 fish for next year.
The baitfish species populations have rebounded in the past decade from their all-time lows in the mid-2010s. This was facilitated by a lake-wide salmon stocking level reduction, done by all the state agencies on Lake Lanier for the past decade. Lake Michigan biologist Ben Dickinson of Indiana DNR, says that the bait population coming back has improved the predator-prey balance in the lake. With prey populations up salmon stockings can increase This should be a benefit for anglers in the next few years, but biologists will be continuing to monitor the levels in case of needed future adjustments.
“Anglers should realize increasing stocking does increase predation pressure and may increase future risk to baitfish populations,” he said. “We will continue to closely watch the predator-prey balance to help ensure the long-term health of the fishery.”
Staff from Mixsawbah State Fish Hatchery in Indiana recently traveled to Michigan to obtain additional Chinook salmon eggs to meet their new production target.
“Indiana doesn’t have the infrastructure to take salmon eggs, so partnerships are crucial for our Lake Michigan program,” said Rob Ackerson, Mixsawbah hatchery manager. “We’re grateful to our Michigan DNR partners for providing us with the opportunity to obtain eggs.”
Fish fry from the Michigan eggs will be raised at Mixsawbah Hatchery and then stocked in April 2023. These chinook fingerlings will spend one to three years feeding and growing in the lake before returning to their stocking sites as mature spawning adults.
More information on the hatchery is at on.IN.gov/mixsawbah-sfh.
More information on Lake Michigan fishing is at on.IN.gov/lake-michigan-fishing.
