(Muskegon, MI) – The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is collecting lake whitefish eggs this month to help rebuild a declining native fish population. Crews are gathering eggs from spawning fish along the Lake Michigan shore between South Haven and Muskegon. The department says pollution, habitat loss and invasive species have contributed to declines in lakes Michigan and Huron, and invasive quagga mussels filter out the plankton newly hatched whitefish need to survive. The eggs will hatch at the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Van Buren County, where some of the fish will be raised for breeding to preserve genetic diversity.
Officials also plan to release some hatchery-raised whitefish into Lake Michigan.
Comments