Lake herring (Coregonus artedii) aquaculture success in northern Wisconsin is a mutual goal of staff at the Red Cliff Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa and the staff at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (NADF) in Bayfield.

According to Chris Hartleb, a biologist and co-director of the NADF, the tribe and the university together are researching new aquaculture technologies to propagate lake herring in commercial-scale production systems for food, bait and stocking markets.

"Our goal is to introduce a new species to the aquaculture industries of northern Wisconsin," said Hartleb. "In addition, we seek to identify the economic markets for this highly valued, yet increasingly difficult to catch Lake Superior fish."

The project is being sponsored by a $23,546 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP). According to Hartleb, lake herring are declining in many parts of the eastern Great Lakes fishery. The commercial market for herring roe is expanding, as is a potential market for live herring as a bait fish.

"Both UWSP and the tribe believe that the lake herring is a prime cold water, fresh water species that can be successfully raised here in Wisconsin on a mostly grain-based diet," said Hartleb.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wisconsin ranks as the nation�s fifth largest producer of rainbow trout, and more than 350 fish farmers raise a variety of food, game and bait fish.

The NADF is a partnership among UWSP, DATCP, the University of Wisconsin-Extension, and the Red Cliff Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa. The NADF, under the UWSP College of Letters and Science, supports this aquaculture enterprise with the college�s expertise in fisheries and fish biology, its strength in applied research, its commitment to statewide partnerships, and its dedication to community economic development.

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tm/vc/NADF Red Cliff herring research