The Michigan Department of Natural resources has announced they have stocked the state's lakes and rivers with 18.9 million fish so far in 2025.
The stocking takes place to help replenish populations in areas that are unable to self-sustain or have high fishing numbers. Supplied by the state's six hatcheries, it took the DNR over 400 trips to deliver all of the fish to their new homes.
"Not every ecosystem can self-sustain on its own, and there's many reasons for that," explained DNR Fish Production Manager Aaron Switzer. "Whether there's habitat degradation or simply the system is out of balance and that could be due to overfishing."
According to Switzer, 1.2 million fishing licenses have been sold in Michigan each year since 2018.
"Michigan is a tourist destination and beaches are a big part of that," Switzer said. "We get all sorts of invaders in the Great Lakes, and so salmon were brought in to provide sport fishery. But more importantly to create an ecological balance in the lake."
The DNR says this year's stocked fish are estimated to help bring in around $3.9 billion to the state's economy.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is a financial supporter of WCMU. We report on them as we do with any other organization.
