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Food Source Alewives are best known for their invasion of the great lakes by using the welland canal to avoid the Niagara falls. Alewives flourished in the Great Lakes and became abundant in Lake Michigan. They peaked in abundance by the 1950s and 1980s. Alewives grew in number because of the lack of a top predator fish in Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan lake trout were all but wiped out around the same time by over fishing and the introduction of the lamprey eel. Alewives which often exhibit seasonal die off, washed up on the beaches of the Great Lakes. Their control was the main reason for the introduction of the pacific salmon species, biologist fist introduced the silver salmon or coho, and then the king or chinook salmon to act as the main predator on them. This is the direct cause for the development of a salmon alewife fish community, popular with many sport fishing anglers. Alewives are now the main food source for the salmon, lake trout, steelhead, brown trout and the lake perch. However, Alwives have been implicated in the decline of many native Great Lakes species through lots of competition and predation. Lake Michigan Lake Trout. Lake trout inhabit cold, oxygen-rich waters such as Lake Michigan where depths can reach 500ft. In Lake Michigan There often living at depths of 20–60 m (60–200 ft). The Lake Michigan lake trout is a slow growing fish, typical of fish in deep cold waters such as Lake Michigan. It is also very late to mature. Lake Michigan lake trout Populations are extremely susceptible to exploitation. Many native Lake Michigan lake trout populations have been damaged through the effects of overharvest. (Gill Netting) & (over fishing). It is generally accepted that there are two basic types of lake trout populations. Shallow water lake trout take on a life history known as planktivory. Lake trout in planktivorous populations are highly abundant, grow very slowly and spawn at a smaller size. In lakes that do contain deep water forage, such as Lake Michigan, lake trout become piscivorous. Piscivorous lake trout grow much more quickly, mature at a larger size and are less abundant. The density of biomass of lake trout is fairly consistent in similar lakes, regardless of whether the lake trout populations they contain are planktivorous or piscivorous. In Lake Michigan one distinct type of lake trout thrive, commonly known as the siscowet lake trout, paperbelly. Siscowet lake trout numbers have become greatly depleted over the years due to a combination of the lack of forage and over fishing (gill netting) & (over fishing) in Lake Michigan. Also due to the tremendous alewives dye off in the mid 80's and early 90's. Siscowet lake trout tend to grow extremely large and fat and attract great commercial interest in the last century. Siscowet lake trout populations have increased in Lake Michigan since 1998, the estimate populations in Lake Superior are over 50 million. Lake Michigan Whitefish The lake Michigan whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), also called the Sault whitefish or gizzard fish, is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. A valuable commercial fish, they are also occasionally taken by sport fishermen. Smoked, refrigerated, vacuum-packed lake whitefish fillets are now commonly available in North American grocery stores. Their colouration is olive-green to blue on the back, with silvery sides. They have a small mouth below a rounded snout, and a deeply forked tail. On average, they reach 17 to 22 inches and weigh 1.5 to 4 pounds. They are found in freshwater lakes where they prefer deep, cool water. Lake Michigan whitefish spawn from September through January in water two to four metres in depth. In northwestern Canada, a large spawning migration enters the Athabasca Delta in late summer, moving upstream in the Athabasca River. The longest single movement of a tagged whitefish ever recorded was 388 km (241 mi), from Fort McMurray to the north shore of Lake Athabasca in Alberta, Canada. The lake whitefish is considered Least Concern on the IUCN Red List list. However, the distinct stock called Lake Simcoe Whitefish is considered a threatened species in Canada. Natural predators include burbot, lake trout and northern pike. Primarily bottom feeders, lake whitefish eat crustaceans, snails, insects, and other small aquatic organisms. Since the end of the last glaciation (about 12000 years ago), whitefish have been able to re-colonize many North American lakes. As they invaded those environments, they have also diversified into different populations, such that they are now two main ecotypes recognized within the species: a normal and a dwarf ecotype. These normal and dwarf ecotypes are mainly differentiated by the benthic and pelagic zone they occupy, respectively. Normal whitefish also grow much bigger and live much longer than the dwarf ecotype. Many of these populations live in sympatry, yet are reproductively isolated. The fact that they are young species makes them prime candidate to study the evolutionary forces driving their ecological divergence and reproductive isolation. (Credit Wikipedia) Lake Michigan Perch Lake Michigan Perch are carnivorous fish that are most commonly found in small ponds, lakes, streams, or rivers. These fish like to feed on smaller fish, shellfish, or insect larvae, but can be caught with nearly any bait. They commonly spawn during the spring, when the females lay strings of eggs in covered areas such as near branches or underwater plants or structure of any kind found on the bottom of deeper waters such as the waters of Lake Michigan off the port of Grand Haven. Lake Michigan Perch are a popular species of panfish and are considered very good to eat; the Lake Michigan commercial catch for them has always been in high demand. This has also led to considerable misuse of the term "perch" in the restaurant business in the United States, such as "ocean perch" (rose fish) and "rock perch" (a small bass). Many restaurants will strive to correctly advertise the offering as "yellow lake perch", or the slightly more ambiguous "lake perch". "White perch", though similarly popular, is a completely different species common in New England, and not a member of the family Percidae. Lake Michigan Perch are sought after by fishermen both for sport and for food. They can be caught with a variety of methods, but the two best methods to fish for Lake Michigan perch out of Grand Haven are perhaps float/drift fishing or small Swedish pimples with leaches, minnows, wigglers fishing bait. The best way to inland Michigan lake fish perch is to use a small hook and cast into the weeds just before the drop off. When fishing with a float, the angler will want to have a disgorger; Perch are notorious for swallowing the hook, and will need aid of a disgorger or forceps for unhooking. In many parts of the world they are also a favorite species among ice fishermen. They will take a variety of baits, including minnows, worms, maggots, bread, pieces of raw bacon, and softshell crayfish. Lake Michigan Perch grow to around 5 lb (2.3 kg) or more, but the most common fish to be caught are around 1 lb (0.45 kg) or less, and anything over 2 lb (0.91 kg) is considered a prize catch. The British record perch is 6lb, beating the previous one by 1 oz (28 g). (Credit Wikipedia) |
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