• Michigan officials and tribal scientists plan to capture spawning lake whitefish from Lake Michigan this fall and breed them in captivity, the Associated Press reported.
  • An invasive mussel invasion has pushed the lake’s wild whitefish population toward near-collapse, according to AP reporting by Kelly House of Bridge Michigan.
  • Doug Craven of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians warned that without action this year, “there may not be enough wild fish in those stocks” to preserve their genetic diversity for the future.
  • The breeding effort is backed by $350,000 from Michigan’s recently passed state budget and nearly $900,000 from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust.
  • State and tribal scientists will collect spawning fish from Naubinway to Saugatuck this fall.

Scientists to collect spawning fish from Naubinway to Saugatuck this fall

Michigan officials and tribal scientists are preparing a captive breeding effort to save Lake Michigan’s whitefish, whose wild stocks an invasive mussel invasion has pushed toward near-collapse, according to a report by Kelly House of Bridge Michigan distributed by the Associated Press.

The plan calls on state and tribal scientists to fan out from Naubinway to Saugatuck this fall to collect spawning fish. With sustained money, effort and luck, the offspring could one day help repopulate the lake after humans quell the mussels.

“It’s really about saving those genetic stocks right now,” said Doug Craven, natural resources director for the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. “If we don’t do it this year, there may not be enough wild fish in those stocks” to do it in the future.

The breeding effort is backed by $350,000 from Michigan’s recently passed state budget and nearly $900,000 from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust. The breeding plan is meant to preserve the wild fish’s genetic diversity until the mussels are brought under control.

The AP report described the initiative as a moonshot attempt — one that requires sustained money, effort and luck to produce offspring capable of supporting a future repopulation effort.