Repairs and upgrades are planned for Michigan's fish hatcheries, which are crucial to the state's $7 billion sport fishing industry.
The state’s 2023 budget provides $34 million for fish production and research. Most of those funds will be used for backlogged maintenance projects.
“There’s nothing super flashy about them,” said Ed Eisch, Fish Production Program Manager for the Department of Natural Resources. “Nothing that’s going to necessarily increase production. But it’s going to shore up production for decades into the future.”
Eisch said that out of the six facilities across Michigan, the Platte River State Fish Hatchery in Beulah is the most overdue for repairs.
“Platte River is the oldest of our modernized hatcheries, and there’s a lot of projects that will happen there,” said Eisch. “There’s some structural upgrades that need to happen to some of the buildings – we’ve got some crumbing concrete and that sort of thing.”
Upcoming projects at the hatchery include roof replacements and upgrades to the electric distribution system, which pumps water through the hatchery.
The 2023 state budget also provides $4 million for a new survey ship at the Charlevoix Fisheries Research Station.
