The Great Lakes: A Salmon Success Story

Many may not know this, but the world-renowned salmon populations in the Great Lakes are a relatively recent development, and the present salmon species are not native to the Great Lakes. What role does the Great Lakes Salmon play, and what is the history behind this successful introduction? 

The History of The Great Lakes Stocking Program

In 1964 the Michigan Department of Conservation stocked Coho salmon in the Great Lakes for the first time. Within the first year of the newly founded stocking program, which technically started in 1964 with planning, released a total of 658,760 Coho Salmon Smolts. 

Shortly after the introduction of the Coho salmon, Chinook salmon were introduced, and as decades passed, the Chinook salmon would take over as the most sought-after salmon species in the Great Lakes. 

Why were Salmon Introduced to the Great Lakes?

In the late 19th or early 20th century, the alewife, an anadromous herring species from the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean, entered the Great Lakes, Likely through the Welland Canal, thus bypassing Niagara Falls. 

After this invasive species became established in the Great Lakes, the species had an explosion in population, and from the 1950s to the 1980s, the numbers of the species peaked. 

While predators such as the lake trout would feed on the alewives, the lake trout population during this period was decimated due to overfishing and high mortality due to another invasive species, the sea lamprey. 

Salmon became the best option to save the great lakes, and once populations became established, there was a drastic reduction in the number of alewives present in the Great Lakes. The management program was a resounding success.

Recreational Angling and Industry

Due to the abundance of salmon in the great lakes, an entire industry has sprung up around the presence of the species, with hundreds of charter fishing enterprises taking anglers on the lakes to experience what is now a world-class salmon fishery. 

Along with the fishing charters, many restaurants and small businesses have sprung up in Great Lakes coastal towns, typically regional tourist destinations, offering freshly caught fish on their menus or fish markets that sell the fish. 

Evidence of Natural Reproduction

Salmon go through the motions of spawning in the Great Lakes the same way they would on the Pacific or Atlantic coasts, and there is now significant evidence that the spawning in some locations is pretty successful. 

While stocking programs are still ongoing, natural reproduction, even on a limited scale, is promising for the future outlook of the species. 

The populations of the Great Lakes salmon can be a bit of a rollercoaster, with different environmental factors impacting their numbers. Still, if successful reproduction occurs in more places, it can alleviate the need to stock the fish, as well as the amount of raising of fish that needs to be done in hatcheries. 

Final Thoughts 

The Great Lakes Salmon story is one of success, not only for the lakes themselves but for the people who live on their shores and call some of the greatest natural wonders of the world their home or livelihood. 

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