Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Establish a Lake Trout population consistent with a functional cold-water ecosystem that maintains a fishery in the eastern and central basins.

Adult lake trout abundance decreased during 2021-2025, reaching target in one of five years. However, there was evidence of wild reproduction (wild lake trout fry) in all five years.

Support the preservation of existing Lake Sturgeon spawning stock and rehabilitation of spawning stocks in historic spawning locations.

The two remaining lake sturgeon populations in the Lake Erie basin are stable and self-sustaining. Efforts to restore additional populations through stocking and habitat restoration are underway.

Any efforts to rehabilitate currently extirpated species should be carefully and collaboratively considered prior to implementation.

The LEC acknowledges that success of rehabilitation for other species will ultimately be dictated by environmental conditions. Several research initiatives to inform potential restoration efforts for cisco and sauger have been completed, and reintroduction stocking efforts have begun for both species. At this time, there are no new assessment programs to evaluate the success of these stocking efforts but ongoing fish community assessments may capture signals of success.