Could fish farm expansion in Michigan hurt the Great Lakes?

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Lake trout

There’s a concern that wild populations of lake trout could be impacted by the expansion of fish farming in the Great Lakes. Image: Flickr, USFWS Midwest

From chinook salmon to rainbow trout, the Great Lakes are known for some of the most incredible freshwater fisheries in the world, but could they also become a hotspot of open water fish farming? We talk to Dr. Bryan Burroughs, executive director of Trout Unlimited, about why environmentalists are saying that would be a bad idea.

From Traverse City cherries to Wisconsin cheese, agriculture plays a big role in our region’s economy. But could aquaculture be the state’s next farming frontier?

Proponents say Michigan’s rich water resources make it an ideal location for farm-raised fish, but environmentalists are urging caution when it comes to deciding where those aquaculture facilities are located. At the top of their list of places they don’t want to see any fish farms is in the Great Lakes themselves.

Current State speaks with Bryan Burroughs, executive director of the Michigan chapter of Trout Unlimited.

This segment was produced by WKAR’s Current State with support from the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and is reproduced with permission.

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