Indianas Annual 2016 Chinook Salmon Stocking Almost Did Not Happen

Lake Michigan’s ecosystem is rapidly changing annually.  The faster the ecosystem changes the harder it is for DNR fisheries of the great lakes to adapt.  The proliferation of invasive species has been the biggest culprit. According to NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] there are over 180 invasive species within the great lakes.  Species such as the zebra mussel rapidly reproduce degrading indigenous habitat and destroying food webs.

               The immense pressure to adapt to the changing ecosystem made the 2016 stocking plan for Indiana almost a wash.  Indiana normally receives eggs each year from Michigan, however low numbers of salmon returning to spawn in streams hit a record low. Michigan had absolutely no eggs to spare.

               Scrambling to come up with a plan, the Wisconsin DNR offered Indiana some help.  Although it was short notice, DNR officials knew that had to act fast.  Wisconsin could only offer their help and allow the Indiana DNR to use the Root River Steelhead Facility in Racine, Wisconsin.  The Root River facility was built in 1993 as a backup source to help manage the salmon and trout fishery of Lake Michigan. Also, the facility is used to monitor the fishery for biological data on migration, health, and behavior of the fishery.

               In October of 2015, Indiana and Wisconsin DNR worked side-by-side to spawn more than 100 pairs of Chinooks.  This led to the production of approximately 539,000 viable eggs.  These eggs were quickly transferred for incubation at the Mixsawbah State Fish Hatchery near Walkerton in LaPorte County.  

               The facility is named in honor of a Potawatomi Chief named Mixsawbah who native home was on the banks of the Kankakee River in Northwest Indiana. It was constructed in 1974 with the capacity of producing 670,000 trout and salmon annually.  The fish are stocked in tributaries of Lake Michigan; Trail Creek in LaPorte County and the East Branch of the Little Calumet in Porter County.  Chinook salmon are stocked at 5 months of age or 3.5 inches long.  However, other species are transferred and kept in rearing ponds for 7-14 months or when they 4.25-7 inches before being released.

               If it was not for the Indiana and Wisconsin DNR working together there would have been no Chinooks stocked in Indiana waters in 2016.  Right now the fish have been wired with a coded tag. They will be released by the end of this month (April 2016).  These fish will be identified by having a missing adipose fin, and be the fifth-year class Chinook marked under the lake-wide federal Great Lakes Mass Marking Program.   You can view that program here

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