Fish sampling of any kind has not been done in 30+ years in many small coldwater streams in Michigan.  Simple one-pass fish surveys can give an estimate of current species, age, and size structure in these streams.  Surveys of this nature do not provide population estimates; however, the information gathered is useful to area fisheries biologists and to MITU Chapters.  These surveys are easy for volunteers to conduct and provide useful data to fisheries biologists.

Harvest regulations are one of the primary tools used to manage coldwater fisheries.  Regulations are set based on some basic information about the fish population in the stream.  For example, how many are there, how variable is the population, how fast do they grow, and how well do they survive.  Collecting this information usually requires that a fish population survey be done in a stream at least once, but preferably for about 2-3 years in a row.  The Michigan DNRE does surveys of this nature.  However, they conduct these surveys on a randomized basis to ensure statewide coverage.  Therefore, because of the large number of coldwater fisheries in Michigan, most individual streams are only sampled about once a decade.  The result is that for many coldwater fisheries in the state we lack information to assess whether the regulation for each stream is appropriate or effective.  Unfortunately, the Michigan DNRE does not have funding to increase its overall fish sampling effort.  However, volunteer groups such as MITU can help collect this information.

When beginning a fish sampling program MITU always consults the local DNRE fisheries biologist for guidance on what type of sampling is needed and where.  If your chapter is interested in beginning a fish sampling program please contact Kristin Thomas ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (616) 460-0477) for more information.