The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Natural Resources Division Fisheries Program has completed another successful spring stocking season, introducing more than 1 million fish into waters across the Upper Great Lakes to help strengthen regional fisheries and support culturally significant fish populations.
During this year’s efforts, Sault Tribe Fisheries Program staff collected 901,995 walleye fingerlings from the Tribe’s Barbeau Hatchery before transporting them to carefully selected stocking locations throughout the Upper Peninsula and Northern Lower Michigan. Staff also collected between 278,819 lake whitefish from rearing hatcheries and ponds at Barbeau and Odenaang.
“This work represents months of planning, research, and long hours by our Fisheries program,” said Sault Tribe Chairman Austin Lowes. “Every fish stocked is a part of the Sault Tribe’s long-term commitment to supporting healthy fisheries and protecting culturally important specifies while making sure resources remain available for future generations.”
The Barbeau Hatchery plays a critical role in the Tribe’s fisheries management efforts. Since 1999, the Fisheries Program has stocked more than 22 million walleye throughout the region. The hatchery’s carefully managed rearing process helps young fish survive one of the most vulnerable stages of their life cycle before they are released into the wild.
The Fisheries Program has also become an early leader in rearing lake whitefish in ponds, a technique rarely practiced in North America. Since launching the effort in 2020, the program has continued refining its methods to help bolster declining whitefish populations throughout the Great Lakes.
The annual stocking effort supports healthy fisheries throughout the region while helping sustain species that are culturally, ecologically and economically important to Sault Tribe and communities across the Upper Great Lakes.
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