Four kinds of Great Lakes Fish have economic value for Michigan commercial fishermen because the public enjoys consuming them: Perch, Whitefish, Walleye, and Lake Trout.

People can either catch these fish themselves or purchase them at a market, grocery store, or restaurant from an out of state provider.

Currently, only 3 full time fishermen and 9 part-time fishermen remain in operation and they are seeking to change Michigan state regulations in order to provide a locally caught, high-quality great lakes fish to consumers.

Sixty years ago, the Conservation Commission of Michigan enacted orders to rehabilitate the Great Lakes from the Sea Lamprey. The orders dramatically and permanently scaled back commercial fishing by limiting licenses and removing species that commercial fishermen could take including Lake Trout, Walleye, and Perch outside of Saginaw Bay among other changes. In 1971, the orders were converted to rules that preempted the commercial fishing law. These 60 year old rules is what governs commercial fishing today.

• Eliminates the 60-year-old rules
• Calls for management of commercial fishing based on sound scientific management through data collection and analysis
• Creates a process for establishing commercial fishing quotas
• Triples commercial fishing license fees
• Sets up an additional license fee based on the market value of Perch, Walleye and Lake Trout of 5%
• Other updates designed to help the industry

• Expand commercial fishing. The DNR has authority to issue new licenses, but this has not happened since 1968
• Allow for commercial fishing in any inland lake or stream, Lake St. Clair or the Detroit River along with many of other places where commercial fishing licenses do not presently exist
• Allow for the commercial fishing of Salmon
• Remove DNR authority from being able to manage the amount of fish that need to be harvested or not harvested based on science & data

• Perch, Whitefish, Walleye and Lake Trout have always been allowed under the law to be commercially fished
• The 60-year-old “Emergency Rules” established to rehabilitate the Sea Lamprey currently prohibit them from being caught by commercial fishermen
• Walleye and Perch are primarily imported from Canada and Ohio to Michigan.

Michigan Commercial Fisherman hope HBs 5801 and 5802 will result in the following:

• Stabilizing the Michigan State Licensed commercial fishing industry, which in 2025 had only: 3 Full time fishers with 9 Licenses; 9 part-time fishers with 11 licenses, and 2 main processors with
• Move the industry from being able to catch only Whitefish to enable the Michigan public a variety of Michigan caught fish
• Utilize commercial fishing to provide diversity and balance
• Provide value-added natural resource-based economy
• Support fishermen and processors, markets, restaurants, and grocery Stores

*As of May 2026