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March 10, 2004HONOR: Hatchery gaffe kills off fish Record-Eagle/John L. Russell The Platte River State Fish Hatchery is located east of Honor on U.S. 31. Nearly half of coho salmon crop wiped outByRecord-Eagle staff writer HONOR - Business owners in this fishing and tourism village are braced for the impact of a pump failure at the Platte River State Fish Hatchery that killed nearly half this year's coho salmon crop. "All the businesses around here rely greatly on fishing," said Jim Ballard, owner of Whispering Creek Resort. "Especially in the fall when the coho are running, because we're trying to get as much as we can before winter gets here." The 458,000 coho yearlings, which would have been stocked in Michigan rivers within a month, died late Sunday or early Monday when a pump that recirculates water in holding containers quit pumping water. The accident should not affect the coho fishery this year, but a decline is expected in the 2005 catch. Norman Gibner, who owns the Sleepy Bear Lounge in Honor, said a coho shortage would be felt throughout the village. "It adds a lot more gravy on the plate," he said. "Last year, we had an excellent season and it brought a lot of revenue into town." Honor hosts a Coho Salmon Festival each August. Event president Debbie Smith said the yearling loss shouldn't have a big impact in 2005 because the festival is held about two weeks before the coho salmon run. "I'm sure people are still going to be fishing, but it will be sad," she added. The hatchery is undergoing an $8.5 million renovation. The yearling coho that died were the first production cycle of the newly renovated raceways. "We know what the problem is, and we're rapidly fixing it," said Gary Whelan, who runs the DNR's hatchery program. The Platte River facility is the only state hatchery dedicated to coho salmon. The DNR hoped to raise 1.2 million coho this year, all but 25,000 for Lake Michigan. There are 610,000 fingerlings left at the hatchery, almost all of which will be stocked in the Platte River. The additional 25,000 were planned for Munising Bay in a program that seeks to ease fishing pressure on lake trout there. The weir on the Platte River is the only place the DNR collects coho eggs. It also collects eggs for Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana hatcheries. The pump failure should not have any affect on the DNR's egg-taking capabilities. The Associated Press contributed to this report
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