Whitefish Numbers Are Plumeting In Lake Michigan and Huron

A staple of Michigan cuisine is smoked whitefish and though the numbers of fish are strong in Lake Superior they are not doing well in other Great Lakes.

Great Lakes Whitefish

Freshwater whitefish are found in the Great Lakes, the northern United States, and Canada.

Smoked whitefish has been a long tradition for Michiganders in the Upper Peninsula since French settlers discovered the abundance of fish in the Great Lakes.

Smoked whitefish is known as Michigan's oldest dish in the northern part of the state and Upper Peninsula. It's hard to find a store or a gas station in the Upper Peninsula that doesn't have a selection of smoked whitefish for travelers and locals to enjoy.

Smoked whitefish is not the only way Michiganders prepare these fish. There are serval other ways to enjoy whitefish like pan-frying, baking, grilling, and poaching.

Another great way many anglers and campers enjoy whitefish in Michigan is by smoking them on a stick by the campfire. It doesn't get any easier than that to enjoy whitefish caught in one of the Great Lakes.

Read More: Michigan: New Deer Laws for Upper and Lower Peninsulas

Whitefish Numbers Declining in Lake Michigan and Huron

Whitefish numbers are doing excellent in Lake Superior but not in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The number of whitefish is rapidly declining and biologists are working to figure out why.

Commercial fishing for whitefish in the Great Lakes is big business but the lower Great Lakes whitefish population is grim and not from overfishing.

According to MLive, biologists say that declining ice cover across the Great Lakes since the 1970s is a big part of whitefish numbers going down in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

Ice cover is part of what protects whitefish eggs when laid in the fall and these light winters Michigan has been having have reduced the protective cover the fish need to repopulate. Although the numbers of whitefish are currently strong the number of Juneville fish is significantly down which is not good for the whitefish future.

Lack of ice cover and warming water temperatures have biologists and commercial fishermen concerned about the future of whitefish in both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Hopefully, Mother Nature will turn things around before the whitefish population depletes further.