DNR proposes reducing Lake Huron chinook salmon plants by 50%

MLive.com notes that the DNR is proposing to reduce salmon plants in Lake Huron by 50% beginning in 2006:

"This is more than just a flash in the pan," said Tammy Newcomb, the Lake Huron basin coordinator with the Department of Natural Resources. "We want to reduce the effective predators out there by half." It's no secret that the lake's alewife population has declined in recent years and is at a low point. Total forage abundance in Lake Huron is less than half of what it averaged in the 1992-2004 period, Newcomb said. It's no secret that the lake's alewife population has declined in recent years and is at a low point. Total forage abundance in Lake Huron is less than half of what it averaged in the 1992-2004 period, Newcomb said.

Indicators are similar to what they were in 1998, Newcomb said, when fisheries managers cut plantings by 20 percent. Fisheries officials had sought larger cuts then, Newcomb said, but were unable to convince fishermen it was necessary. This time, Newcomb said, the Lake Huron Citizens' Advisory Committee has signed off on the cuts.

The DNR wants to eliminate the plants at the Au Gres River, St. Ignace and St. Marys River -- all of which are relatively small plants that produced minimal returns -- and cut total plants from 2.8 million year to 1.4 million next year at the remaining sites relatively proportionally.