![]() “There is a strong brook trout fishery and that’s what is unique about the Boardman,” said Bryan Burroughs, executive director of Trout Unlimited in Michigan.īurroughs said that although Trout Unlimited supports the goals of the FishPass project, he had reservations about whether sorting technology could be 100% effective. The river draws a lot of local anglers and from elsewhere in Michigan and is considered one of the state’s premier cold-water trout streams. Upstream of the Union Street dam the primary fish species are brook trout and brown trout. They prey on most species of large Great Lakes fish, including lake trout, brown trout, walleye and lake whitefish. Resembling eels, sea lamprey attach to fish with their suction-cup mouths and feed on their blood, usually killing their prey, according to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. The sea lamprey, native to the Atlantic Ocean, spread throughout the Great Lakes by the late 1930s. We want to prevent them from spawning … this is the holy grail of invasive species management.” “A single sea lamprey can do quite a bit of damage in the Great Lakes. “We want to block the sea lamprey,” said Zielinski, noting they need river access to spawn and are harmful to native species. ![]() Likely species could include white and longnose suckers, walleye, lake sturgeon, lake trout, smallmouth bass and northern pike. Released fish will be tagged and closely monitored.įollowing the 10-year period, the state DNR will work with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, angler groups and the public to determine which fish will be allowed upstream. They’re not expected to occur during the first few years of research and will be planned in coordination with project partners. Some studies, Zielinski said, might require the passage of a small number of native species to assess their impact on the upstream watershed. They include using eel traps, lighting, ultrasounds, shape recognition and altering the speed of water flow. Sorting technologies will be tested individually and in combination with one another. Research at FishPass is expected to begin in 2022 and will continue over a 10-year period. Most of the money for the project is coming from Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding. Other project partners include the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. ![]() “The site will look like a river running through a park,” Dituri said. Plans call for a pedestrian bridge, an interpretive overlook, an amphitheater (for educational and entertainment purposes), and other amenities, including kayak and canoe portages. The project also will improve recreation access at the site, which is about a mile from the river’s mouth at Lake Michigan and a few blocks south of the Front Street shopping corridor. As long as we can keep out sea lamprey, this could have a lot of potential benefits for the Great Lakes.” ![]() “If you can even increase the passage of native fish by 10%, that’s a large amount of fish to reconnect with native spawning habitat. Zielinski, principal engineer/scientist with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, lead partner for FishPass. “This project has a broad impact,” said Daniel P. FishPass could be a model for the Great Lakes and other waterways around the globe, officials say.
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