Lake Trout Restoration in Lake Huron

Lake trout have been stocked in Lake Huron for over thirty years, but little evidence of natural reproduction has been observed until recently.  Recent widespread catches of wild juvenile and adult lake trout in assessment surveys suggest that lake trout have been reproducing in the lake since at least 2004.  Unprecedented recent changes to food webs in Lake Huron, including the collapse of the offshore demersal fish community and the virtual disappearance of alewife, may be related to these changes.  Thiamine levels in lake trout eggs have increased to levels above those associated with Thiamine Deficiency Complex since 2001, and this may also be related to the recent surge in natural reproduction.  Wild adult lake trout density in Lake Huron is still relatively low compared to Lake Superior, however, and a potential hatchery-to-wild transition in Lake Huron is expected to occur more slowly than in Lake Superior.