Because fishery yield for Lake Huron is currently less than half the lake's specified target level, some agencies with management authority for the lake have considered stocking to enhance recreational fishing opportunities. In 2010, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) expanded stocking of Atlantic salmon in Lake Huron to enhance fishing opportunities. Currently, there is uncertainty about the population this stocking effort has produced or the extent that recreational anglers may value Atlantic salmon versus other salmonids. I surveyed anglers that purchased a 2019 Michigan fishing license to collect salmon fishing trip data for Lake Huron and to ask contingency behavior questions to determine how angler fishing effort might change given changes in expected salmonid catch rates. I additionally fit a statistical catch-at-age model to harvest data from Michigan jurisdictional waters to estimate Atlantic salmon population dynamics and abundance. Based on survey responses, an increase in the catch rate of one fish per 100 hours was estimated to increase the total number of trips to Lake Huron by 13.9 (Chinook salmon), 13.2 (Atlantic salmon), 8.6 (steelhead), 4.5 (coho salmon), and 0.3% (lake trout). This equated to relative values of $38.67, $37.04, $24.40, $12.83, and $0.31 for the species, respectively. The estimated total abundance of Atlantic salmon in 2019 was 392,000 fish, with a peak abundance of approximately 406,000 fish in 2018. Although these results will aid fishery managers evaluate potential stocking options for the lake, I encourage stocking decisions be made collaboratively with input from multiple Lake Huron stakeholder groups.
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