Three Michigan Tribes Are Working to Bring Back a Fish Missing for Nearly a Century
Young Arctic grayling and hundreds of thousands of eggs have been released, though success will take years to judge.
Arctic grayling have not been seen in Michigan waters for nearly a century. Three northern Michigan tribes, working with the state, are now trying to bring the fish home, according to a Grist report republished by Good Good Good.
What's been done
Logging, overfishing and competition from non-native fish wiped out the state's grayling by the 1930s. The effort involves the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.
- About 8,000 young grayling released by the Grand Traverse Band into the Boardman-Ottaway River, roughly four times last year's number, after a power outage at its facility killed most of the previous year's fish
- 391,000 eggs placed by the Little River Band in in-stream incubators on the Manistee River, with estimated viability of about 50 to 60 percent
- Eggs came from Alaska's Chena River, and funding came from state, federal and private sources
What's next
The Grand Traverse Band plans studies next year to find out what is eating the young fish. The Little Traverse Bay Bands plan to upgrade their incubators so grayling can grow larger before release.
Honest context
This is an experiment. No released fish have been confirmed in the wild; recent tag signals may have come from a brown trout or an otter, though one biologist hopes they came from a live grayling. Floods and storms have complicated surveys, and a warming climate could threaten a cold-water species. Biologists estimate it will take six to eight years to judge whether the reintroduction has worked.
