Why The DNR Is Adding 20 Million Fish To Rivers Around Michigan

Spring is here, and as the bees begin pollinating and birds' nests begin appearing all over, life is reawakening underwater as well. As fish populations begin migrating upstream and reproducing, they sometimes need a little extra help.

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So it's possible that, while driving in the coming weeks, you may pass a massive truck full of fish. Yes, fish, because it is fish stocking season. Soon, over 20 million fish of various species will be distributed across lakes and streams in the state. Here's why.

What Is Fish Stocking?

It's exactly how it sounds. All throughout the year, the DNR is breeding fish at six different fish hatcheries around the state, like the Platte River State Fish Hatchery and the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery, in preparation for the spring.

From mid-march to early June, over 20 million fish are loaded up into a fleet of fish stocking trucks that quite spew the fish out of hoses into rivers and streams. The fish being reintroduced include Atlantic, Chinook, and coho salmon, splake, brown, brook, lake, and rainbow trout, muskellunge, and walleye.

They do this to:

• Provide more fish for anglers
• Rebalance ecosystems
• Boost fish populations in decline
• Reintroduce locally extinct native species

Many fish populations can maintain themselves without hatchery assistance, but even those populations receive a boost to offset declines caused by fishing and environmental losses. If you see one of these fish trucks, feel free to watch the process take place.