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MARQUETTE – The Michigan Natural Resources Commission recently approved a new regulation creating restoration areas for coaster brook trout along portions of nine streams in Marquette, Houghton and Baraga counties.
The newly-created restoration areas for adfluvial brook trout have been developed to try to help revitalize coaster brook trout populations in Lake Superior tributaries.
Coaster brook trout live in Lake Superior and spawn in tributaries. The large fish once occurred in more than 100 Lake Superior tributaries, but were highly vulnerable to overfishing. One source said streams within 30 miles of Marquette were fished out by the end of the Civil War.
Today, the Salmon Trout River in Marquette County is often cited as the only remaining stream on the south shore of Lake Superior with a significant population of coasters. The fish in the Salmon Trout River are protected with a shortened season, 18-inch minimum size limit and single fish daily bag limit.
Three years ago, the NRC recommended the Michigan Department of Natural Resources explore regulations to protect the large fish. The new regulations are part of an effort to develop populations in tributaries elsewhere along the Lake Superior shoreline.
“The coaster rehabilitation initiative has received a lot of support when presented to sportfishing groups and the public,” said Phil Schneeberger, DNR Lake Superior Basin coordinator in Marquette.
The special regulation limits anglers to a daily one-fish bag limit, with a 20-inch minimum size requirement for brook trout.
“Similar efforts in Minnesota and Ontario tributaries to Lake Superior have resulted in rehabilitation of coaster numbers, and we think this approach has the best chance for successfully rehabilitating coaster brook trout populations in Michigan,” said Troy Zorn, a fisheries research biologist at the Marquette Fisheries Research Station.
Those previous efforts were undertaken by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, beginning in 1997, and by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources in waters associated with Lake Nipigon.
The U.P. waters included in the new regulation include the Iron, Big Huron, Little Huron and Big Garlic rivers in Marquette County, the Pilgrim River and the Portage/Torch Lake system (including the Portage River, ship canal, north and south entry) in Houghton County, and the Silver, Slate, Big Huron and Ravine rivers in Baraga County.
Only specifically defined segments of the streams have the special regulations. Those segments would be in the lower portions of streams, protecting fish that venture into the streams near river mouths. Previously, regulations dictated a 7-inch minimum size requirement for brook trout in those streams, with a five-fish per day bag limit.
“Our assumption is that fishing mortality in streams may be hindering rehabilitation of coaster brook trout in Michigan tributaries to Lake Superior,” Zorn said.
That assumption is based on spawning migrations of brook trout into the Salmon Trout River and Ontario tributaries begins in mid-July; minimum size limits on most Michigan tributaries to Lake Superior are 7 or 8 inches and because brook trout are aggressive and readily caught by anglers.
The DNR wants the regulations in place for 10 years.
“After 10 years, I hope to see age 4 or older brook trout in our fall stream surveys, and/or receive increased reports from anglers catching coaster-sized brook trout in these streams or nearby areas of Lake Superior,” Zorn said. “Large, old brook trout are rarely encountered in Michigan streams, if at all, so increased occurrence of them would likely indicate a positive response of populations to the protective regulations.”
DNR officials said efforts to restore coaster brook trout in several areas by stocking supposed “coaster” strains of brook trout have largely failed. However, restoration of the trophy fish has been a longstanding priority of U.S, states, Canadian provinces and Native American tribes situated around Lake Superior.
After a decade of regulations in place to protect coaster brook trout in downstream portions of Minnesota tributaries to Lake Superior, coasters were found in fall electrofishing surveys and by anglers fishing for steelhead.
Genetic analysis of rehabilitated Minnesota coaster brook trout has shown that they originated from native brook trout stocks rather than “coaster” strains previously stocked in Minnesota waters.
John Pepin can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206.