Great Lakes Fisheries Program (est. 1999)
The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Great Lakes fisheries assessment and monitoring program collects essential information for the management of Great Lakes fish stocks within the 1836 Treaty-Ceded Territory. The assessment and monitoring programs are focused on several long-term goals of the LRBOI Natural Resource Commission in conjunction with the 2023 Great Lakes Decree, Tribal Great Lakes Fishery Management Plan, and the Fish Community Objectives for Lake Michigan.
Program Overview:
- Long-term fisheries assessments:
- Spring Lakewide Assessment Plan
- Summer Fisheries-Independent Whitefish Survey
- Fall Spawner Assessment
- Commercial and subsistence licensing
- Harvest reporting
- Commercial monitoring (biological data collection)
- Collaborative Research Projects
- Larval & juvenile Atikameg (Lake Whitefish) and Otoonapii (Lake Herring/Cisco) sampling
- Restoring river-spawning runs of Lake Whitefish
- Cisco migration patterns and spawning habitats
- Stereo-remote underwater video surveys
- Evaluation of thiamine deficiency in Lake Trout and Lake Whitefish