The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), together with several Native American tribes, is set to kickstart the next phase of the Arctic grayling reintroduction plan. On May 12, a handoff of approximately 400,000 grayling eggs to the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians will take place at the Oden State Fish Hatchery Visitor Center in Alanson, reported the Department of Natural Resources. The culturally significant species, once native to Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, saw its local extinction nearly 100 years ago.
Arctic grayling, a member of the salmon family are recognized for their distinctive large dorsal fin and iridescent coloring. They have traditionally been found in Michigan’s coldwater streams, including the Manistee and Au Sable rivers, according to a release by the DNR. However, due to habitat destruction, unregulated timber harvest, and competition from non-native fish species, the grayling had vanished from the state by 1936, as detailed by CBS News Detroit.
The reintroduction initiative, known as the Michigan Arctic Grayling Initiative (MAGI), began back in 2016. It involves more than 50 partners working to establish self-sustaining populations of graylings within their historical range in Michigan. MAGI’s partners previously transferred 4,000 fish to the Oden hatchery as broodstock, after 10,000 eggs were collected from Alaska’s Chena River in spring 2019, the Lansing State Journal reports…