Fisheries Decision Making: Advice from the Introduction of Pacific Salmonids into the Great Lakes

The introduction of Pacific salmonids to the Great Lakes, restoring biological balance to the largest system of surface freshwater on earth and generating one of the world’s most economically valuable freshwater recreational fisheries, was an unconventional decision made in response to a need to address invasive Alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus).  The process included answering the following questions: 1) Why make a decision? 2) Who makes the decision? 3) How should the decision be made? 4) When should the decision be made? 5) What if there is a mistake in decision making?  Structuring a fisheries decision around these five questions streamlines the process; communicating these steps makes the process more transparent to those outside of decision making.  While the introduction of exotics was surely controversial, and there have been many issues with the subsequent management of Pacific salmonids in the Great Lakes since this initial introduction, the decision was made with the public good in mind.  Remember that conservation is management of public resources to produce “the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest period of time.”