If whitefish are in such dire straits, why is it still legal to fish them? And why can’t humans just eat all the mussels that are causing the whitefish collapse? Bridge Michigan has answers.
Great Lakes
Posted inOutdoors Life
By the numbers: Michigan added 18.9M fish to waterways so far this year
Michigan anglers are getting an extra boost through a major fish stocking operation intended to support a $3.9 billion fishing economy.
Posted inOutdoors Life
Michigan Dreaming Bucket List: Taking the wheel on a tall ship in Traverse City
Manitou is one of a handful of traditional sailing ships that offer cruises in Michigan. Bridge Michigan hopped aboard to check off No. 3 on the reader-voted summer bucket list.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Great Lakes mussel research starved of funds as whitefish vanish
Quagga mussels deplete food and nutrients from waters, threatening to drive whitefish extinct. But scientists looking for a solution are working on a shoestring budgets, as much more money is devoted to other invasive species.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Can Michigan save beloved whitefish? Fate hinges on uphill bid to kill mussels
Decades into the mussel invasion, whitefish are on brink of collapse. Scientists are working on a Hail Mary bid to save the fish, using tarps, paint scrapers and a 1,200-pound steel plate.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Great Lakes drownings down, marine patrol funding cut
Drownings in the Great Lakes are down this year, with half of them occurring in Lake Michigan. Meanwhile, the number of drownings in inland lakes isn’t known and some sheriffs are cutting back marine patrols amid a funding shortage.
Posted inQuality of Life
Michigan shipwreck offers lessons from the depths
The recently discovered Western Reserve wreck is providing lessons about shipbuilding, underwater archaeology and the importance of survivor accounts.
Posted inEvents
Bridge Lunch Break to discuss whitefish crisis
The July 30 event will feature Bridge Michigan environmental reporter Kelly House.
Posted inOutdoors Life
50 years after Edmund Fitzgerald sank, swimmers to complete ‘final voyage’
The Edmund Fitzgerald was carrying Iron Ore to Detroit when it sank in 1975, killing all crew members. Now, 68 swimmers — Led by Jim “The Shark” Dreyer — will complete the mission.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
A record year for Great Lakes piping plovers
The Great Lakes piping plover recovery effort has been ongoing since the mid-1980s when the population got as low as a dozen nesting pairs. This year, the number reached 85 nesting pairs for the first time.