A power outage at a key spot for collecting eggs from steelhead could threaten the upcoming fishing season.
This story is made possible through a partnership between Interlochen Public Radio and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources was set to start collecting 4.6 million steelhead eggs at the Little Manistee River Weir on Tuesday, sending them to hatcheries in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio for stocking.
But instead, staff spent the day pulling more than 1,700 dead adult steelhead from fish holding pens. That's roughly 75% of the population held at the weir. Overnight storms knocked out power to the weir, shutting off oxygen pumps.
“This is all of our worst nightmare,” said Mark Tonello, a DNR fisheries biologist. “It's personal for us. These are our babies, and this is the absolute last thing that we want to have happen.”
The weir’s backup generator failed and so did the warning system that would typically alert staff to a power failure, he said.
DNR staff at the Little Manistee River plan to collect eggs from the remaining alive fish this week and divert more fish into pens. Power to the weir was restored Tuesday and almost all the oxygen pumps were functioning. But staff worry there won't be as many steelhead to divert because high water levels from storms make it easy for the fish to swim past the weir gates.
Of the dead steelhead, Tonello said, “We've given some away, and we've collected as much data as we could off the fish, so we're trying to make lemonade as best we can there.”
People come from all over the state to watch the egg collection — the Little Manistee River Weir is Michigan’s only source of steelhead. Fish swimming up the river had been diverted into the weir holding pens last week for egg collecting.
Linda Barthel came from Ann Arbor. She watched DNR staff toss dead fish into a dump truck. Barthel is leaving with some dead steelhead in a bag and said she will use some of their eggs for bait.
“This is actually my first steelhead trip,” Barthel said. “This is a bummer. This is a sad day for everybody. For the DNR, for the anglers.”
Allen Lemieux from Grand Rapids said he was looking forward to the steelhead egg collection. He plans to come back throughout the week as DNR staff attempt to collect eggs from the remaining living fish.
“I've been fishing for over 50 years, and I've never been here to witness it, and I wanted to come over and see it,” he said. “I'm shocked.”
Tonello said this likely isn’t a catastrophic event for the Great Lakes steelhead population. But it is concerning for the local steelhead fishery in the Little Manistee River because of all the dead adults.
DNR’s chief of fisheries Randy Claramunt said Tuesday’s loss underscores that they need a backup site for steelhead egg collecting – especially as extreme weather like this week’s storms become more frequent with climate change. And that’s expensive.
“Anybody will tell you it’s going to cost us, and [you’re going] to pay these costs up front by preparing for them, or you’re going to pay after the fact,” Claramunt said.
