Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Habitat

Achieve no net loss of the productive capacity of habitat supporting Lake Superior fishes. Where feasible, restore habitats that have been degraded and have lost their capacity for fish production. Reduce contaminants so that fish are safe to eat and develop comprehensive and detailed inventories of fish habitats

The Lake Superior Committee agencies and partners have implemented a number of habitat restoration projects across the basin including improvements to fish passage on hundreds of Lake Superior tributaries, restoration of hundreds of acres of riparian habitat on Lake Superior tributaries, and restoration of coastal wetland and upland habitat in the basin. A primary challenge that the LSC faces is protection and restoration of Buffalo Reef, a significant spawning reef for lake trout and lake whitefish that is currently being encroached upon by legacy mining waste (stamp sands). Monitoring and assessment of bio-accumulative contaminants in fish flesh are not the purview of fisheries managers. However, the LSC recognizes that contaminants need to be at levels so that fish are safe to eat as part of healthy sustainable fisheries. The Great Lakes Fish Monitoring and Surveillance Program has monitored Lake Superior near the Apostle Islands and the Keweenaw Peninsula since the 1970s. The three main findings from this study are that from 1991 to 2017 1) mean total PCB concentrations in Lake Trout declined, 2) mean total PBDE concentrations in Lake Trout declined since 2001, and 3) mercury concentrations in Lake Trout do not show statistically significant changes.