Earlier this year, Jason Smith, a fisheries biologist with the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, spoke with Interlochen Public Radio (IPR) about an ominous trend threatening one of the Great Lakes’ most foundational and key fish species: lake whitefish.

“Even if we bring (commercial fishing) harvest to zero, the lakes are still headed toward extirpation,” Smith told IPR in January about the species.

Lake whitefish make up 89% of fish caught in the Great Lakes among Michigan-licensed anglers and 95% of sales for all Great Lakes fish, according to Michigan Sea Grant’s 2020 Status of Michigan Commercial Fisheries. They’re also culturally important and valuable for many fishers licensed by tribal nations around the Great Lakes.

Harvesting of the fish, however, has gradually declined since 1985 despite its significance and abundance compared to other species in the Great Lakes, according to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC). In 1985, roughly 7.8 million pounds of lake whitefish were harvested in Lake Michigan. In 2005, about 4.2 million pounds were harvested.