On August 24, U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney in Kalamazoo approved an agreement among four indigenous tribes, federal regulators, and the state of Michigan, establishing fishing regulations for portions of the upper Great Lakes. This accord, which allocates fishing privileges across Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior, extends a preexisting regulatory structure that had been in deliberation since its lapse in 2020, now spanning the next 24 years.

The agreement was originally agreed upon by the four tribes of Bay Mills Indian Community, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa and the Little River Band of Ottawa with state and federal governments. This does not include the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, who said state officials have no authority over fishing operations based on the 1836 Treaty of Washington, which preserves tribal fishing rights.

“The Proposed Decree respects and promotes Tribal fishing rights and opportunities, yet it also preserves the Great Lakes fishery and recognizes the shared nature of the resource,” Maloney wrote in his 139-page opinion.

The ruling also confirms the denial of other objections from the Sault Tribe, questioning the long-term adoption of the decree. Other objections denied by Maloney included those from the Coalition to Protect Michigan Resources (CPMR), which argued that sport fishing would be harmed by expanded tribal fishing.

Controversial gill nets are included in the agreement, but with expressed criteria. The nets can be used in more places around the three lakes, but is limited to how much netting is deployed, what depth in the water the nets are placed and what time of year the nets can be in the lakes.

CPMR sited gill nets as a primary reason for why whitefish and lake trout populations are decreasing, despite most state resources citing invasive mussels disrupting the food chain as the main concern for those fish species. Maloney said that catch ceilings was a more important metric for conservation compared to how the fish were caught.

“Whether they meet that harvest limit quickly by using the efficient method of gill nets, or whether they meet that harvest limit over time by using less efficient means of fishing, the tribes are still subject to the same harvest limits regardless of gear used,” Maloney wrote.