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LAKE MICHIGAN SALMONID STOCKING

Chinook salmon, coho salmon, brown trout and two strains of rainbow trout are raised at the Department’s Jake Wolf Fish Hatchery. Chinook salmon eggs are collected from mature fish in the Little Manistee River (Michigan) by Illinois and Michigan Departments of Natural Resources personnel; coho salmon eggs are collected from mature fish in the Platte River (Michigan). Eyed eggs (developed to the point that eyes can be distinguished inside egg) of brown trout and Arlee-strain rainbow trout are received from US Fish & Wildlife Federal hatcheries, and fertilized Skamania-strain rainbow trout eggs are received from an Indiana Department of Natural Resources hatchery. These fish are grown at the hatchery and stocked by the hatchery staff in early or late summer, depending on the species. Lake trout stocked in our waters are hatched and raised at one of the US Fish & Wildlife Federal hatcheries; these fish are then stocked offshore using the Service’s vessel Togue.

There have been several studies over the years that have required us to be able to identify the age, strain, or stocking location of salmonids stocked in our waters. A highly visible and relatively inexpensive method of marking fish is to clip off one or a combination of fins. One ongoing project involve clipping fins on Chinook salmon stocked in Waukegan Harbor to assess fall (spawning) returns to that stocking site and to estimate mortality rates. We also began clipping fins on both strains of rainbow trout in 1996 in response to Michigan’s request that all stocked rainbow trout be marked to distinguish them from naturally produced rainbow trout.

 

Location
Coho
Chinook
Lake
Rainbow
Steelhead
Brown
Total stocked
Cook County
Belmont Harbor, Chicago

 

 

 

 

 

10,000

 

Burnham Harbor, Chicago

 

 

 

 

 

10,000

 

Calumet Harbor, Chicago

 

 

 

 

 

10,000

 

Diversey Harbor, Chicago
83,002
101,350

 

 

37,551(c)
10,000

 

Jackson Harbor, Chicago
83,038
101,350

 

14,926

 

10,000

 

Montrose Harbor, Chicago

 

 

 

14,927

 

10,000

 

Dawes Park, Evanston

 

 

 

10,517

 

10,000

 

Lake County
Highland Park (shore)

 

 

 

10,516

 

10,000

 

Julian's Reef (offshore)

 

 

60,771(b)

 

 

 

 

North Point Marina

 

 

 

 

 

10,000

 

Waukegan Harbor (South basin)
83,026
96,762(a)

 

 

 

10,000

 

2003 stocking totals
249,066
299,462
60,771
50,886
75,968
100,000

 

Grand total for 1967 -2003
6,181,158
11,365,986
4,726,414
2,795,362
511,450
2,299,912
27,103,900

(a) RP fin-clip
(b) Ad fin-clip (coded wire tags)
(c) AdRP fin-clip (Skamania strain)

2003 STOCKED (pdf)

2004 STOCKED (pdf)

2005 STOCKED (pdf)

2006 STOCKED (pdf)

2007 STOCKED (pdf)

MARKED FISH IN IL, 1997-2003(pdf)

MARKED FISH IN IL, 2002-2007(pdf)

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Last updated June, 2008