Fisheries Research Report No.1893, 1981

Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Fisheries Research Report No.1893, 1981
Distribution and Abundance of Pink Salmon in Michigan Tributaries of the Great Lakes, 1967-1980

Wilbert C. Wagner And Thomas M. Stauffer

Abstract–.-By 1980, some 24 years after introduction of an odd-year spawning stock into Lake Superior, pink salmon have spawned in at least 56 tributaries of Lake Superior, 5 of northern Lake Huron, and 11 of northern Lake Michigan. Abundance trends in Lake Superior have been sharply upward. Salmon in Lakes Huron and Michigan have not shown such an increase, probably because relatively few generations have reproduced there. The occurrence of 2-and 3-year-old spawners suggests that magnitude of the spawning runs will be more stable than on the West Coast where all salmon mature at 2 years. The impact of pink salmon on other fish cannot be predicted, but food habits of salmon seem similar to those of many other fishes in the Great Lakes. Sport and commercial fisheries may develop for these small salmon.