Tag Archives: Natural Resources Board

Wild Things: State of the Commercial Fishery

At its monthly meeting in Madison Wednesday, Door County’s Charlie Henriksen told the state Natural Resources Board that the Lake Michigan and Green Bay commercial fishery is still struggling, with some bright spots but many ongoing concerns. Henriksen, chair of the state’s Lake Michigan Commercial Fishing Board, said the ecological challenges of the last 20 years have not abated, and added that fishers are still overcoming the effects of the economic difficulties from the pandemic that limited their opportunities. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<08:17

Commercial Fishing Operations Reporting Record Catch Along Lake Superior’s South Shore

Commercial fishing operations near the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior are reporting record numbers of whitefish and a strong recovery of lake trout from a low in the early 2000s. During a presentation to the state’s Natural Resources Board, Craig Hoopman, of Lake Superior whitefish, said he is seeing record numbers of young whitefish and a strong rebounding of lake trout numbers. Hoopman, who chairs the state Department of Natural Resources Lake Superior Commercial Fishing Board, said fishing has been phenomenal so far this year. “We’re averaging between 2,500 and 3,000 pounds of whitefish per day in the traps right now and releasing thousands of sub-legal fish,” said Hoopman. “There’s just multiple year classes of fish.” >click to read<12:38