Fish Harvest Monitoring
The Great Lakes Section monitors off-reservation fishing in
the 1842 Treaty ceded area within Michigan waters of Lake Superior 1-2 times
per month from January through December, with priority being given to taking
length, weight, and ageing information from lake trout and whitefish,
herring, and siscowet.
More reports are available in the reports table
Sea Lamprey Assessment
The Great Lakes Section works in tributaries to Lake Superior from April to July in cooperation with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service- Sea Lamprey Control program (USFWS) to monitor the upstream spawning movements of sea lamprey, collect data on the biological characteristics of spawning sea lamprey (sex, length and weight), estimate the number of spawning sea lamprey in each tributary, and to reduce the spawning potential of sea lamprey by removing a portion of the run.
Lake trout & Whitefish Fall Spawning Assessment
Whitefish
The Great Lakes Section conducts tagging of whitefish to identify discrete spawning stocks and to determine their distribution, relative abundance and biological characteristics in management units of the 1842 Treaty ceded area within Michigan waters of Lake Superior Spawning concentrations of whitefish are sampled by gill nets at predetermined locations in shallow water (<50 ft). Fish captured in good physical condition are tagged with consecutively numbered orange tags and released. A $5.00 reward will be offered to fishermen returning orange tags along with date and location of capture.
Lake Trout
The Great Lakes Section conducts tagging of spawning stocks of lake trout to identify discrete stocks and to determine their distribution, relative abundance and biological characteristics in management units of the 1842 treaty ceded area within Michigan waters of Lake Superior. Spawning concentrations of lake trout are sampled by gill nets at predetermined locations in shallow water (<50 ft). Fish captured in good physical condition are tagged with consecutively numbered orange tags and released. A $5.00 reward is offered to fishermen returning orange tags along with date and location of capture.
Temperature and Depth Profiles of Namaycush (LakeTrout) in Lake Superior
Buffalo Reef Stamp Sands Substrate Mapping
Juvenile Whitefish Assessment
The Great Lakes Section uses a beach seine in areas around the Keweenaw Peninsula to obtain an annual and year
class specific index of relative abundance for the near shore fish community
including whitefish, and to describe the biological attributes of the fish
community in shoreline areas of Lake Superior.
Siscowet Assessment
The Great Lakes Section obtains trend and diet information on siscowet from the 1842 Treaty ceded area within Michigan waters of Lake Superior during July by setting bottom set gill nets over different depth strata.Gill net gangs consist of 2,700 feet of nylon graded mesh with 300 feet each of 2 to 6 inch mesh in inch increments.Siscowet are measured and otoliths and stomachs are collected.
Diet analysis is done on the stomachs following protocol established by the Lake Superior Technical Committee.
