Science: Lake trout rehab effort in the Northern Refuge failing to produce a natural population

The lake trout Salvelinus namaycush was once the top predator in Lake Michigan, but overfishing and parasitism by sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus led to a collapse in the population and by 1960 the population was wiped out.  A rehabilitation effort began in 1965, driven by stocking.  In 1985, as part of the rehabilitation effort, refuges, areas where fishing for lake trout is prohibited, were established.  In 2008, biological recommendations for the rehabilitation of lake trout populations were given to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.  Part of these recommendations gave stocking priority to lake trout refuges, including the Northern Refuge.  Madenjian and Desorcie (2010) performed a study to assess the progress towards rehabilitation in the Northern Refuge.

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