Salmon are one of the most popular game fish found in the Great Lakes today. However, they weren’t originally native to these massive inland seas. So how did salmon end up thriving in the Great Lakes? Let’s take a look at the fascinating history behind the introduction of salmon to the Great Lakes region.
A Crisis in the Great Lakes
In the early 1960s, the Great Lakes were facing an ecological crisis. Years of overfishing, pollution, and the invasion of parasitic sea lampreys had devastated native fish populations, especially prized game fish like lake trout and whitefish
This collapse allowed invasive alewife populations to explode. Alewives dominated the biomass of the lakes, numbering in the billions. But alewives were unpopular with both anglers and commercial fishermen. And when they died off in mass seasonal die-offs, their rotting carcasses fouled beaches and clogged water intake pipes.
Clearly something had to be done to bring balance back to the Great Lakes ecosystem. Introducing a predator to control the invasive alewives emerged as the preferred solution. But what fish could thrive in the Great Lakes and feast on the abundant alewives?
Fisheries managers settled on Pacific salmon as the best candidate. Salmon were already being stocked in the Great Lakes by the federal government. But most salmon streams fed directly into the ocean. What was needed was a salmon that could complete its entire life cycle in freshwater.
The breakthrough came when Howard Tanner, head of the Michigan Department of Conservation’s Fisheries Division, obtained fertile coho salmon eggs from Oregon in 1964. The following spring, coho salmon were stocked in Michigan waters. And by 1966, Chinook salmon were also being stocked.
These stocking efforts proved to be a spectacular success. The salmon flourished in their new habitat, gorging on abundant alewives. Within a few years, coho and Chinook salmon grew to remarkable sizes never seen in the Pacific. The Great Lakes salmon fishery was born.
Salmon Transform the Great Lakes
The impact salmon had on the Great Lakes was nothing short of profound. Lakeside communities that had fallen into economic decline were suddenly bustling with recreational anglers pursuing hard-fighting salmon. Charter boats and tackle shops sprang up, injecting tourist dollars into small town economies.
Commercial fishing was also revolutionized. No longer constrained to carp and low-value lake whitefish, commercial fishermen could land salmon bloated with roe that fetched premium prices. The economic value of the fishery skyrocketed.
Of course, not everyone was happy with the changes salmon brought. Purists argued against introducing non-native species. But overall, salmon were hailed as the savior of the Great Lakes fishery.
Are Salmon Still Stocked Today?
Salmon continue to be stocked by all of the states bordering the Great Lakes. Each year, around 3 million Chinook are stocked. Coho stocking has declined in recent years to around 700,000 fish annually. Combined, approximately 4 million salmon are added to the Great Lakes each year.
Without continued stocking, salmon populations would collapse. Very few naturally reproduce successfully. This massive stocking program, funded by license fees and taxes, is essential to sustain the multi-billion dollar Great Lakes salmon fishery.
Threats Facing Great Lakes Salmon Today
While alewives remain abundant overall, salmon populations still face challenges today:
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Declining alewife populations in Lake Huron have lead to reduced Chinook stocking there. Alewives never recovered after an alewife die off in 2003.
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Spiny waterfleas, an invasive species that competes with larval fish for food, have reduced survival of both alewives and salmon.
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Warming water temperatures due to climate change are making conditions less favorable for cold water salmonids.
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Toxins like PCBs remain present in lake sediments, leading to fish consumption advisories due to contamination.
Looking to the Future
While threats exist, salmon seem likely to continue dominating the cultural identity and economy of the Great Lakes fishery. Too many livelihoods now depend on salmon to abruptly shift course. But managers will need to address existing challenges to ensure salmon thrive into the future.
Other coolwater predatory fish like walleye and bass may also grow in importance as a hedge against climate change impacts on salmon. But make no mistake, for the foreseeable future, salmon will continue to reign as king in the Great Lakes.
Play to the Base
The New York state record chinook salmon, caught in the Salmon River in 1991, weighed almost 48 pounds. The record New York coho is just over 33 pounds. Those fish all got fat on alewives.
Alewife populations have waxed and waned over the years, and while biologists use the yearly alewife assessments to determine stocking levels of trout and salmon, the prey base now carries a bigger responsibility.
“At least half the chinook in Lake Ontario are naturally reproduced,” said Brian Weidel, a research fisheries biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center in Oswego, NY. “That number seems to surprise a lot of anglers, but it underscores how important a food source is to maintaining fish populations.”
These days said Weidel, Lake Ontarios alewife population is quite abundant. With a stable supply of food, good fishing follows along. On the lake, anglers use lures, spoons, and cut baits that act, look or smell like alewives.
“The fishing is good, the population seems pretty stable. We almost always catch plenty of fish,” said DeGeorge. “I like to tell people when they come to fish here that unless theyve traveled and fished in saltwater or Alaska, they are likely to catch the biggest fish of their lives.”
Troy Creasy, a charter captain who owns High Adventure Sportfishing in Oswego, believes Lake Ontario is one of the best fisheries in the country, if not the world. (Photo courtesy of High Adventure Sportfishing)
All along the New York shore of Lake Ontario, from Niagara to Watertown, you can find charter captains who will take you on the big lake for half-day or full-day charters.
An excellent resource for finding a charter boat in a part of the lake youd like to fish is the Lake Ontario Fishing Charter Directory, which has a list of captains licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard who operate fishing charters.
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Salmon in the Great Lakes: Part 1, Early Life History
FAQ
How did salmon get in Great Lakes?
Coho Salmon in the Great Lakes Ecology
Coho salmon were introduced to Lake Michigan in 1966 as part of an effort to control the population of an invasive fish species called the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus).
Are salmon invasive to the Great Lakes?
Many commonly known Great Lakes fish, including chinook and coho salmon and rainbow trout, are actually non-native species that have been introduced to the lakes, either accidentally or intentionally.
Are any salmon native to Michigan?
… as sal- monines) live in Lake Michigan: one native species (lake trout) and four introduced species (brown trout, Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead)
Are salmon native to Lake Erie?
Coho salmon and brown trout are stocked but in far smaller numbers. Occasionally Chinook salmon are caught in the Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie, but they are not common and their origin is often debated. A trout stamp is needed to take these fish.
Are salmon native to the Great Lakes?
Salmon are not a native fish species to the Great Lakes. There is another non-native fish species that was introduced to these bodies of water that is also an invasive species–sea lamprey. These fish were accidentally introduced into the Great Lakes between 1936-1946.
Why was Salmon introduced to the Great Lakes?
The state introduced salmon as a way to curb an explosion of alewife, an invasive species of herring that probably was introduced to the Great Lakes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On that point, the salmon appear to have been wildly successful. Are there salmon in the Great Lakes?
How long have salmon lived in the Great Lakes?
Originally introduced by the state’s Department of Natural Resources to curb the problem of an exploding alewife population, salmon have lived comfortably in the Great Lakes ever since the early 1970s. Who is known as the father of the Great Lakes salmon fishery? Howard is known as “The Father of the Great Lakes salmon fishery.”
What fish are in the Great Lakes?
One of the most loved fish in the Great Lakes’ large freshwater ecosystem is the salmon. Salmon have become a famous symbol of Great Lakes wildlife. They have gone from being a valuable commercial fishery to a popular game fish that draws anglers from all over the country. However, salmon were not always a fixture of these interconnected lakes.
Are salmon in the Great Lakes in a state of flux?
Originally introduced by the state’s Department of Natural Resources to curb the problem of an exploding alewife population, salmon have lived comfortably in the Great Lakes ever since the early 1970s. But that level of comfort now appears to be in a state of flux, and decreasing salmon stocks could mean the state needs other options.
How many species of salmon are in Lake Michigan?
History of salmon in the Great Lakes, 1850 There are salmon in Lake Michigan, four species: Chinook, Coho, Pink and Atlantic. by are the result of over a hundred years of stocking.