CHICAGO (AP) -- The Lake Michigan Committee says it wants to sharply reduce the number of Chinook salmon released into Lake Michigan for the next three years.
The committee said Monday that the reduction is necessary to keep a balance between salmon and their food sources, primarily tiny fish called alewives.
Experts say more than half of Lake Michigan's Chinook salmon population is produced naturally, while the levels of alewives are at or near historic lows. That's similar to conditions that led to the collapse of prey fish populations in Lake Huron.
The committee wants to reduce salmon stocking by half starting next spring, reducing the number released from 3.3 million to 1.7 million fish.
Fisheries agencies from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin and the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority must approve the recommendations.
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