Agriculture

Role of inland fisheries often underreported, undervalued, study says

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By ERIC FREEDMAN
Capital News Service
LANSING — Inland fisheries and aquaculture account for more than 40 percent of the world’s reported fish production but their harvest is frequently under-reported and ignored in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere, a new study says. “The central role of inland fish in aquatic ecosystems makes them good indicators of ecosystem change,” said the study by scientists at Michigan State University, the U.S. Geological Survey, Carleton University in Canada and the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. Ecosystem change includes threats from agriculture, hydropower projects and deforestation, as well as overfishing and invasive species. Although the study focused primarily on inland fisheries in the developing world, it also addressed the situation in the Great Lakes and the region’s inland waters. “Fish respond directly to some environmental stressors such as toxic and thermal pollution, flow change and climate change,” according to the first global review of the value of inland fisheries and fish.

Environment

One invasive species may have found a niche

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By ERIC FREEDMAN
Capital News Service
LANSING – Can invasive species be good news – rather than bad – for native fish in the Great Lakes? That sounds counterintuitive, but a new study shows that the invasive round goby has become an important food source for several native species, especially smallmouth bass, but with benefits also for yellow perch and walleye. Even so, there are still unknowns, including whether the round goby transports contaminants up through the food chain, said Derek Crane, the lead author and a research associate at Lake Superior State University. The study calls the round goby “one of the most successful aquatic invaders” in the Great Lakes. It’s a bottom-dweller originating in Eurasia.

Environment

Spring brings fish stocking, regulation changes

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By EDITH ZHOU
Capital News Service
LANSING – This year’s fishing season is starting on the wheels of stocking trucks, new regulations and programs to attract more participants. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said its $9 million program is stocking 19 million fish – 370 tons – including eight trout and salmon species and four cool-water species, including walleye and muskellunge. This year, DNR’s fish-stocking vehicles will travel nearly 138,000 miles to more than 700 spots around the state. Christian LeSage, a biologist at DNR’s Fisheries Division, said that overall, locations and species don’t change much from year to year. However, some locations are not always stocked, and new places are added.