The Department of Natural Resources had indicated that the commercial fishermen were able to pull more than 650,000 pounds of smelt from Lake Michigan in 2006. By 2008, that number was cut in third to just more than 208,000 pounds. So far this year, the smelt harvest has been a paltry 19,000 pounds.
Peter LeClair, who owns Susie Q Fish Market in Two Rivers, opined that he has a pretty good idea what has happened to the smelt in Lake Michigan. He also said that the DNR plants all kinds of predator fish like lake trout and Chinook salmon in Lake Michigan and they don’t allow any of the commercial fishermen to harvest them. He added then the predator fish eat all of the smelt in Lake Michigan.
Raymond Niebuhr, a commercial fisherman based out of Two Rivers, has been experiencing similar problems. Niebuhr told that the last few years, it seems like everything is working against the fishermen. According to him the main reason is the weather, which has been brutal the last two years. While LeClair acknowledges the weather hasn’t done fishermen any favors the last two years, he places the bulk of the blame of the small smelt harvest on the DNR.
Steven Hogler of the DNR said he doesn’t believe predator fish are the primary reason why the smelt harvest in Lake Michigan has been down. Hogler added that the predation of trout and salmon does reduce smelt numbers, other factors seem to play a greater role in determining their abundance in the lake. LeClair said the recent harvests have been devastating for local commercial fishermen.
