An iconic fish native to the Great Lakes is declining at an alarming rate thanks to an invasive species of mussels.
Commercial catches of whitefish in Lakes Huron and Michigan have tanked from 6.9 million pounds in 2009 to under 2 million in 2024, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Kelly House, environmental reporter for Bridge Michigan, has written a series of articles covering the crisis.
“Many experts are extremely fearful that we are going to run out of time in our quest to find a solution to mussels before the whitefish die [in the lower Great Lakes],” she told Stateside.
Invasive quagga mussels started appearing in the lakes in the late 1980s. They filter out the whitefish’s main source of food, making the lower Great Lakes “inhospitable” to the native species.
“They carpet the entire lake bed,” House said.
She joined Stateside to discuss what’s being done to stabilize the ailing whitefish population.
Check our her reporting below:
