Hook & Hunting: DNR Studying Decline of Juvenile Whitefish

The DNR will be out along the Lake Michigan shoreline this month surveying for juvenile lake whitefish.

They want to know why the population is falling.

The agency is partnering with 10 others to monitor lake whitefish in the Great Lakes.

They are the most important commercial fish species in the region, and a popular item at restaurants.

The highest loss of fish is in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

The DNR says it is because of ecological changes in the Great Lakes.

“We know whitefish have been declining for about the past decade and we know the reason is not because of the commercial fishery. There is not excessive fishing mortality by any means, but the issue is with reproduction or recruitment. So it’s the juvenile whitefish that we want to study. We want to get a little better understanding of what’s going on and how their populations might change and fluctuate from year to year,” says fisheries biologist Dave Carroffino.

The DNR says there isn’t any reason for concern, lake whitefish won’t be disappearing from the Great Lakes.