Newly hatched lake herring fry being cultured at the UWSP Aquaculture Demonstrated Facility, Bayfield, WI. Photo courtesy of Greg Fisher.

In December 2007, biologists from Jordan River National Fish Hatchery traveled to northwestern Wisconsin to meet with staff from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point (UWSP) Aquaculture Demonstration Facility. 

The UWSP Aquaculture Demonstration Facility is operated and administered through the University of Wisconsin and operates under a mandate to promote and advance the development of commercial aquaculture in the Upper Great Lakes. Since its inception, the facility has been a recognized regional leader in applied research for the aquaculture industry, as well as a source of information for state and federal natural resource agencies.

The facility has done extensive work on various warm, cool, and coldwater species of fish including yellow perch, walleye, brook trout, and, most recently, lake herring. It is this last species, lake herring, which drew the recent attention of Fish and Wildlife Service biologists to this state-of-the-art facility located in remote Bayfield County, Wisconsin.

The lake herring has long been a species of concern in the Great Lakes region. Historically, this species served as the mainstay of an extensive “Cisco” fishery across all five of the Great Lakes. During the early twentieth century, thousands of tons of these fish were harvested annually from the lakes, providing an important food source for the country, as well as an important regional economic resource.

The collapse of these vibrant fisheries in the twentieth century, while not completely understood, has been linked to competition with invasive species of fish and perhaps water quality issues.  Recent changes in the Great Lakes fish assemblage have prompted state and federal natural resource agencies to reexamine the possibility of restoring this ecologically important species to areas in the lakes where it once flourished. 

In December, crews from the Aquaculture Demonstration Facility collected over two million lake herring eggs from western Lake Superior, where the fish are still considered numerous. The researchers collected these eggs as part of ongoing research into developing best management practices for a wide range of economically important species of fishes.

Biologists from the USFWS and state agencies are interested in the results of these trials, as they will provide valuable information instrumental in developing restoration strategies for the depressed or absent populations in the other Great Lakes.  Jordan River NFH fisheries biologists Roger Gordon (project leader) and Paul Haver traveled to the facility to question staff, investigate methods, and review equipment needs associated with the early life stage culture of lake herring.

The staff of the facility, especially Manager Greg Fischer, provided a wealth of information to the Service representatives. The staff of Jordan River NFH will continue to work closely with the UWSP Aquaculture Demonstration Facility while they carry on further work with this species and others important to restoration in the Great Lakes.

For more information about this or other projects being carried out at Jordan River National Fish Hatchery, please call 231-584-2461, or email the manager at roger_gordon@fws.gov.