In the 1980s and ’90s, roughly 150 fish cribs were placed in Big Green Lake, designed to protect small fish from larger fish and preserve the lake as a habitat for aquatic life.
Today, many of those cribs have deteriorated. The cribs’ interior of thick brush and tree branches has disintegrated over time, leaving the only exterior skeleton intact.
Because the cribs could no longer protect the little fish, Norton’s Dry Dock owner Chuck Hurley and others in the area grew concerned that once the small fish disappeared, the game fish would follow because little fish are one of their main food sources.
Since purchasing Norton’s Dry Dock three years ago, Hurley has been trying to raise awareness about the need to replace the aging cribs.
To address the issue, Hurley, with the help of the community, added 10 new fish cribs to Big Green Lake July 28 and 29.
With most of the land surrounding Big Green being developed, Hurley noted the lake has very few “natural structures,” such as fallen tree branches and other brush that allow fish to hide from predators.
“If you go to any other lake in Wisconsin, you’ve got islands or trees that have fallen down,” he said. “But when you look at our shoreline, it is all developed so there’s almost no place on this lake where a tree is falling into the lake. So we’re artificially doing what would be happening naturally.”
He added that fish structures provide an aspect of habitat that is crucial for survival and reproduction by providing places for small fish to hide, which enables them to survive long enough to reproduce.
“Solid structures can also improve fishing success by concentrating bait fish, thereby attracting larger game fish,” he said.
But the project didn’t happen overnight. The wheels began turning last summer when Hurley formed a non-profit, Green Lake Aquatic Structure (GLAS), with the plan to build 10 new fish cribs and place them in Big Green annually.
Read the full story in the Aug. 13, 2020 edition of the Ripon Commonwealth Press.
The Link LonkAugust 12, 2020 at 09:49PM
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Providing fish a habitat for the future | Green Lake News - Ripon Commonwealth Press
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