Commercial Fishing

Commercial Fishing. Mackinac CIty Historical Pathway. , Fishing became the subsistence occupation in Mackinaw when the fur trading industry collapsed in the 1840s. It has continued to be a major employer for over 170 years. , , The first large fishery on this site was built in 1892 and was owned by D. Trumpour. During the fishing season, five to seven tons a week of fresh or salted fish would be shipped by boat or rail from this point to various cities in the United States. The homes, fish sheds, docks, and boats of commercial fishermen dotted the shoreline from Old Mackinac Point south to Fly Point. The catch, during various seasons, was lake trout, whitefish, herring or perch. In later years, several other fisheries occupied this site: those owned by Wilber Robinson, William Shepler, Bob Robinson, Clyde Cousineau, and Don Bell. , , Trap Nets , Today fishermen mostly deploy trap nets. These complex systems use interlocking funnels, constructed of netting the fish can see, to direct fish into a trap where they remain alive until the fisherman returns. Unusable fish are released unharmed. , , Gill nets , Game laws limit the types of nets that can be used. Gill nets, looking a lot like very long volleyball nets, have been used to catch fish in the Straits for thousands of years. These nets were strung across known fish habitats and fish, being unable to see the thin lines of the net, swam into the mesh and became entangled. In recent years, gill nets have been outlawed in areas of upper Lake Huron because they are wasteful; they kill fish that are not consumable.