Michigan officials are launching a genetic rescue plan to help save the whitefish, a native fish species in the Great Lakes, from the devastating effects of invasive mussels. The plan involves collecting spawning whitefish from Lake Michigan and breeding them in captivity. The goal is to preserve these fish and eventually repopulate the lake once the threat from the mussels is reduced. The project is funded with $350,000 from the state budget and nearly $900,000 from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust. Scientists will collect fish from Naubinway to Saugatuck this fall, focusing on the most vulnerable bloodlines. The decline of whitefish populations has been largely driven by zebra and quagga mussels, which were introduced from Europe. These invasive mussels have disrupted the food web by consuming plankton, a key food source for young fish. This has led to clearer water, which exposes fish hatchlings to sunburn and starvation. Commercial fishing for whitefish has dropped sharply, from 6.9 million pounds in 2009 to less than 2 million pounds last year. The remaining whitefish are aging and will soon die of old age, making the situation increasingly urgent. The rescue efforts are being led by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, with a focus on Lake Michigan, where the decline is most severe. Scientists will incubate the collected fish's eggs at the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery and then transfer the survivors to hatcheries across the state. The fish will remain in human care for years or even decades, until the mussel invasion is under control. However, funding is limited and can only support a couple of years of hatchery space, food, and other costs for some of the 18 unique whitefish populations in Lakes Michigan and Huron. Efforts are underway to secure additional funding from neighboring states and the U.S. and Canadian governments. Similar recovery efforts for Great Lakes lake trout have taken decades and hundreds of millions of dollars, and the work is not yet complete. Scientists are exploring a range of options, including using hatcheries, inland ponds, lakes, and attempting to spawn whitefish in rivers. However, current research is underfunded, with scientists even building equipment from scrap metal and worrying about the continuity of their work. In response to these challenges, U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell and Tim Walberg of Michigan have introduced legislation to allocate $500 million for mussel control research over the next decade. However, the bill has not gained much momentum, prompting calls for Congress to act. Doug Craven, natural resources director for the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, emphasized the importance of addressing the mussel crisis, noting that whitefish are a "canary in the coal mine" for the broader ecosystem and other fisheries. Their survival is seen as a key indicator of the health of the entire Great Lakes environment.