TOPIC:

We attended Wednesday's hearing in the House Natural Resources and Tourism Committee to testify in opposition HB 5801 & HB 5802 to allow commercial harvest of sportfish. There was a large turnout of anglers and fishing organizations to oppose the bills.

We were very pleased that the DNR testified in opposition. Fisheries Chief Randy Claramunt did an excellent job outlining the problems with these bills. Due to a tight schedule our time for testimony was cut short so we used it to address some prior questions from legislators and hit on some key points. It was a disappointing that many other angler groups were not able to testify due to the schedule but we were all able to submit our full testimony in writing to the committee. We think the hearing went well, we educated legislators on problems with these bills and if anglers stay engaged and keep pushing their Representatives, we can stop both bills.

Your calls and emails have been critically important to help in this fight and they are working. 7 seven legislators have pulled their co-sponsorship and support for these bills so the count is now 53 co-sponsors instead of 60. If you have not made a call or email to urge your House Representative to oppose these bills, please do so now. If you have contacted your Representative, ask your friends or family to and multiple your impact.

Here is our complete testimony we submitted to the committee:
Dear Members of the House Natural Resources and Tourism Committee:

Sport angling for gamefish species such as yellow perch, lake trout, and walleye provides tremendous economic and recreational benefits to Michigan and communities throughout our state. We strongly oppose the expansion of commercial harvest of these species in the Great Lakes.

Michigan’s recreational fisheries generate approximately $3.9 billion annually in economic activity and supports more than 17,000 jobs and businesses across the state. In contrast, the commercial fishery generates only a small fraction of that impact—approximately $5 million annually and relatively few jobs. These valuable gamefish populations are sustained and managed primarily through recreational fishing license revenue and federal excise taxes collected on fishing equipment and marine fuel under the Dingell-Johnson Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act.

Expanding commercial fishing operations in the Great Lakes would also create significant public safety concerns. Commercial fishing nets present serious navigation hazards. In 2019 in Lake Erie near Bolles Harbor, a boat became entangled in a commercial fishing net, capsized and one person drowned. Increasing the number of nets in heavily traveled waters such as Lake Erie, the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, Saginaw Bay and other parts of the Great Lakes would substantially increase risks to recreational boaters, anglers, and other water users.

Additionally, allowing the use of gill nets would cause significant harm to Great Lakes fisheries. Gill nets indiscriminately kill fish that become entangled in them, including both target species and unintended bycatch. These nets have been proven to rapidly deplete fish populations, threatening the long-term health of recreational fisheries that support Michigan’s ports, tourism industry, and small businesses.

A more constructive alternative to support commercial fishing interests would be to work cooperatively with the federal government to expand whitefish restoration, rearing, and stocking programs in the Great Lakes. Tribal governments in Michigan already operate limited whitefish rearing and stocking efforts. Existing federal hatcheries that currently rear and stock cisco and lake trout could potentially be repurposed to include whitefish production. Such efforts would benefit both state-licensed and tribal commercial fisheries.

However, it is critical that any new programs aimed at increasing whitefish populations be funded through commercial fishing fees or the state’s general fund. The DNR Fisheries Division should not be given an unfunded mandate, nor should recreational fishing license dollars be diverted to subsidize commercial fishing operations.

We urge this Committee to reject HB 5801 and HB 5802 as drafted. We are more than willing to sit down with and work with commercial fishing licensees, tribal co-managers and the DNR to develop a revised commercial fishing regulatory framework that improves whitefish populations and modernizes the law without opening walleye, lake trout or yellow perch to commercial harvest.

Thank you for your consideration and for your commitment to protecting Michigan’s Great Lakes fisheries, recreational economy, and public safety.

Here is a link to a video of the fill hearing.
Lastly, our bill HB 5093 to fund more inland stocking and allow Great Lakes trollers to run more rods should get a vote in the House Natural Resources and Tourism Committee on June 3rd.

Good luck fishing!

Mailchimp users are doing , or  learn about email design  and blaze your own trail.Copyright © 2026 Great Lakes Salmon Initiative, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website.

Our mailing address is:
Great Lakes Salmon Initiative
PO Box 189
Chelsea, MI 48118