The GLSI held our annual meeting at Jays Sporting Goods on Sat March 14th and would like to thank them for the use of their meeting room and encourage you to support them with your business. Due to Covid-19 the attendance was lower than what we wished but a very good discussion ensued. What direction is the GLSI going to take this year, is/was a main topic. In light of continuing current stocking plans and practices but in limbo of the 2020 Consent Decree negotiations and what comes of the discussions.
Spoke with Jay Wesley and the pandemic situation is creating some hard choices for the MDNR. Stocking schedules and net-penning projects may be effected. Steelhead may be stocked early, scheduling net pens and Consumers Energy helps out with many of these projects; are employees going to be available. Smolting and imprinting which are biological time sensitive issues may be effected. My comment that egg take facilities should be priority to have a positive return.
Also important to the GLSI is the overall predator abundance, biomass and predator prey ratio models. Looking at the multi colored graph in the pic, how do we have variability in Chinook every year but the other species are flatlined. There are new models being developed and in the works but the question that should be out there is the trust factor in the data presented. How is Lake Trout flatlined in abundance after millions are planted every year and mortality from Lamprey is below targeted goals and then throw in natural reproduction rates. Brown trout is another example! Planting cuts have been made, catch rates are down which indicates the abundance isn’t there.
The other picture is of FCO’s, Fish Community Objectives. Goals for targetable fish harvest. Showing lake trout goals and combined species harvest goals. This graph is from 2017 because 2018 info is on 2 separate pages and easier using 1 page. In 2018 Lake trout harvest was at or above goals also. The GLSI question is why should we accept an agency telling us what we should want to target?? We are below combined species harvest targets so it begs the question are we targeting Lake Trout because we want to or have to because we don’t have access to other species? The tribes are resisting changing the FCO’s.
Due to a sick board member and another board member attending another sport group meeting we were not able to cover votes on board elections and changes to the by-laws. We will get this information out by email to members and allow them vote on these topics.
If you have an interest in your fishery and want to make a difference lake wide and advocate for your interests take time to entertain becoming a board member. Contact us if you have an interest.
