Mich. cuts Chinook stocking by two-thirds

LANSING, Mich. – Lake Michigan’s Chinook salmon are doing so well that Michigan has decided to sharply reduce its stocking of the popular game fish, the state announced Monday.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said it will cut its annual Chinook stocking in the lake by two-thirds, from 1.67 million to 560,000. The change begins in spring 2013.

The decision implements last month’s Lake Michigan Committee recommendation that states reduce stocking by half, from 3.3 million to 1.7 million annually.