On a sparkling summer day, Lake Michigan glitters on Chicago’s doorstep, a miraculous diamond in our front yard. Swimming in its deep, cold waters are four native fish that have been the lake’s special gustatory gift: whitefish, lake trout, walleye and yellow perch. Man has relished these fish since he first arrived on Lake Michigan’s shores, and many a homesick Midwesterner thinks of them when he gets hungry for home. Delicate fillets of mild walleye, dusted with flour and sauteed in butter. Whitefish steaks, piping hot with potatoes and onions in a Door County fish boil. Lake trout, smoked over heady hardwoods. Little perch fillets, golden and crisp, still sputtering from the fryer.
They are the piscatorial icons of life among the Great Lakes. Mild and sweet, firm yet tender, they please even the most seafood-suspicious.
So why are they so hard to find?
Factors from invasive species to pollution to population crashes have all but sunk commercial fishing on Lake Michigan. Scientists say the lake may never regain its pristine health and native ecosystem.
On the other Great Lakes–especially Lake Erie–the fishing is still good, however. A mostly Canadian commercial fleet reels in our four longtime favorites. They’re worth seeking out.
Sports fishermen spend billions each year to catch non-native coho and chinook salmon, which make terrific eating. Bloaters and burbot, carp and drum, herring, lake sturgeon, muskellunge, northern pike, rainbow smelt: They’re all edible. But the four most important species–in the commercial sense, at least–are the whitefish, lake trout, walleye and yellow perch that we see on restaurant menus and in markets.
“We do walleye a bunch of different ways,” said Mark Pilicki, general manager at Shaw’s Crab House in Chicago. “We serve it cornmeal-crusted, with tar-tar sauce or in a horseradish crust. Sometimes we pan-saute it. Whitefish, we broil on a hickory plank. And perch we saute, although some people request it deep-fried.”
But none sells as well as, say, Atlantic salmon, Pilicki said. It may seem ironic, but most people are more familiar with orange roughy from New Zealand than they are with fish from the Great Lakes.
“We have whitefish on the menu year-round,” he said. “It’s in the bottom, as far as sales go. Walleye is probably middle of the road. Perch does well, but it’s probably in the bottom tier.”
That perplexes Bill Dugan of The Fish Guy Market in Chicago.
“It’s the freshest fish we’ve got in this city,” Dugan said. “What’s coming in here comes in from Canada. They’re pretty much day fisheries, where they go out in the morning and come in at night. So the fish is pretty darned fresh.”
But Great Lakes fish isn’t cheap just because it comes from close by. “When we offer yellow perch here, they’re nice and fresh,” Dugan said. “My customers pay $14.95 a pound for yellow perch fillets, while they’re paying $16 to $18 a pound for fresh bluefin or big-eye tuna.” Dugan thinks Great Lakes fish are well worth digging into, even if their price is high and shoppers worry about consumption cautions.
“I used to go out fishing with a guy [on Lake Michigan],” Dugan said, “and he had been doing it forever. I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute to eat a fish out of Lake Michigan.”
Jim Robinett, vice president of government affairs at the John G. Shedd Aquarium, sure doesn’t hold back.
“Walleye is my favorite eating fish. It’s a good size, and it’s very palatable,” he said. “They’re in the same family as perch. It doesn’t have a strong, fishy flavor, and its meat is very white. It’s very easily prepared.”
Whitefish is even milder, Robinett said. “It’s one of the few fish I’ve ever gotten my wife to say, ‘Wow! This is good stuff!’ “
It is definitely good stuff. Native Americans knew that when they introduced white men to the lake’s riches centuries ago. But it’s no longer as plentiful as it once was.
Commercial fishing boats from Canada ply the waters of the other Great Lakes. The only commercial fishing left on Lake Michigan are Indian tribes fishing for whitefish and walleye in the northern lake off Michigan and Wisconsin. Tribal boats also occasionally deliver coho and chinook to market in those states, but not in Illinois.
When Lake Michigan’s yellow perch population crashed in 1997, officials in three states closed the perch fishery. Although the perch population has begun to recover, the fishery remains closed. It is legal to fish commercially for one other species, bloater, but prices are so low that fishermen don’t bother. (Bloater is usually sold as smoked chub. What you see at the market didn’t come from Lake Michigan.)
On the other Great Lakes, the fish stock is “robust, from a commercial point of view,” said Peter Meisenheimer, executive director of the Ontario Commercial Fisheries Association in Blenheim, Ontario. “Our problems are not with the fish stocks, but with the management exercise.”
By “management exercise,” Meisenheimer means that quotas limiting Canadian catches may be too low for the fleet to stay in business.
More than 80 percent of the Canadian fleet fishes Lake Erie, where most walleye comes from, Meisenheimer said. “We have a huge amount of fish sold into the U.S. market, with the bulk sold to fish processors who would sell to restaurants,” he said. Most of the yellow perch and walleye (or pickerel, as the Canadians call it) ends up in white-tablecloth restaurants, he said. A lot of the whitefish and white bass are purchased for Jewish customers, either as whole fish or to sell ready-made, such as in gefilte fish.
The fish are there, Meisenheimer is saying. Why not harvest them?
Ah, now there is the rub.
The fish are there, but numbers are far from optimal, scientists say.
“I’m always optimistic,” said the Shedd Aquarium’s Robinett, “but it would take a large amount of time to see a commercial fishery again” on Lake Michigan.
Four issues challenge the lake, he said, and therefore its fish: habitat loss as the lake’s shore-line changes, invasive species, pollution and water disbursement. (See story below for details on the aquarium’s new initiative, Great Lakes Forever, which explains those challenges.)
“Lake Michigan is almost an artificial lake in terms of its species,” Robinett said.
Native species will never flourish as they did before the sea lamprey arrived in Lake Erie in 1921. It ravaged the lake trout. With no predators, the population of another uninvited species, the alewife, exploded. The alewife eats the plankton that young yellow perch and whitefish need, so numbers of those two species crashed.
To control the alewife, two salmon, coho and chinook, were introduced. Researchers figured out how to manage the sea lamprey with chemical controls. Sports fishermen exalted, but the salmon they love also displace the Great Lakes’ native top predators, the lake trout and whitefish.
Zebra mussels, like the alewife, compete with young yellow perch and whitefish for food. The mussels also have clarified lake waters so much that aquatic plants now crowd the lake bottoms, further changing the lakes’ habitats.
The Great Lakes may appear to have achieved an uneasy ecological stasis, but now scientists warn of a new threat to native fish: the voracious Asian carp.
“They’re better competitors than the young perch,” Robinett said. “They’re extremely adaptable, and they could wipe out desirable species.” The carp have been found in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, but experimental electric barriers have thus far kept them out of Lake Michigan.
Pollution, no longer the lakes’ single greatest threat, still causes officials to caution about eating too much Great Lakes fish (see story at right). Industrial and agricultural contaminants like PCBs, deposited decades ago, will pose problems for generations to come.
“There’s a long way to go before we can say that the lakes are healing on their own now,” Robinett said. “I don’t know if that will happen in my lifetime. Now we’re getting airborne mercury from coal-fired plants, some of them international, that gets up in the jet stream.”
The Great Lakes provide drinking water for tens of millions of people. Beyond water and food, they provide space to play and spectacular beauty to soothe eye and spirit. They are an inestimable treasure.
Native Americans, who used the lakes but did not harm them, appreciated the lakes for all those reasons. When Europeans claimed stewardship, they saw the lakes as an inexhaustible resource to exploit, not as a treasure to protect.
We’ve had more than 400 years of following the Europeans’ attitude, and we can see the results. Perhaps it’s time to try a different idea.
The Ojibwe have lived with the Great Lakes for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Central to Ojibwe life is the notion of gakina-awi-iya, or “we are all related.” Storyteller Bucko Teeple of the Bay Mills Ojibwe has said, “The native people have a relationship with the Creator and this is the relationship with the environment.” That sense of interdependence with all life generates respect, sharing, humility and responsibility.
Certainly the Great Lakes deserve all four.
– – –
Raising awareness of Great Lakes’ vulnerability
The John G. Shedd Aquarium has joined a campaign called “Great Lakes Forever,” with the goal of raising public awareness of a variety of issues affecting the Great Lakes.
The campaign, begun by the Biodiversity Project of Madison, Wis., an advocacy organization, will get a boost from the Shedd’s 2 million-plus visitors each year, said Jeff Boehm, senior vice president of conservation science for Shedd Aquarium. The program was launched last summer in Madison.
“What we have is a phenomenal resource in the Great Lakes that people don’t really understand,” he said, “especially its vulnerability.”
The program wants to get “people talking about the lakes. To a lot of people, Lake Michigan is viewed as a backdrop or a playground,” Boehm said.
“We’re hoping that people will understand the issues so when they have a choice to make, like thinking about their water use, in the shower or the yard,” they’ll realize that their decisions affect the Great Lakes, he said.
The Shedd will open an exhibit on invasive species in the Great Lakes this fall as part of the “Great Lakes Forever” push. For more information, visit greatlakesforever.org or sheddaquarium.org, or call the Shedd at 312-692-3274.
–Robin Mather Jenkins
How much fish can you eat?
The Illinois Department of Public Health oversees health advisories for those who eat Great Lakes fish. The three contaminants causing most concern are PCBs, chlordane and methyl mercury.
The chemicals are not destroyed in cooking, but trimming away fat and skinning the fish reduces risk for PCBs and chlordane. Mercury concentrates in muscle tissue, so the only way to reduce risk is to reduce the amount of fish you eat.
Women of childbearing age and children are at highest risk. Men and women beyond childbearing age can eat as much fish as they wish.
Don’t let concerns about contaminants keep you from eating Great Lakes fish, the department said. Its Web site (www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/fishadv/fishadvisory05.htm) cites the health benefits of fish consumption, and notes that eating contaminated fish won’t necessarily affect your health.
Recommendations for fish from Lake Michigan:
Chinook: Less than 32 inches, one meal a month; more than 32 inches, six meals a year
Coho: All sizes, one meal a month
Lake whitefish: All sizes, one meal a month
Lake trout: Less than 23 inches, one meal a month; 23 to 27 inches, six meals a year; do not eat fish larger than 27 inches
Yellow perch: All sizes, one meal a week
Smelt: All sizes; one meal a week
Walleye: Less than 32 inches, one meal a month; more than 32 inches, six meals a year
Where to buy Great Lakes fish locally
Great Lakes fish frequently show up in main-stream supermarkets. But if you can’t find it, here are some fish markets in the area. If you’re look-ing for a specific variety, it’s best to call ahead.
Burhop’s Seafood 1515 Sheridan Rd., Wilmette, 847-256-6400
Burhop’s Seafood 14A N. Grant Square, Hinsdale, 630-887-4700
Burhop’s Seafood 1413 Waukegan Rd., Glenview, 847-901-4014
Dirk’s Fish & Gourmet Shop 2070 N. Clybourn Ave., 773-404-3475
The Fish Guy Market 4423 N. Elston Ave., 773-283-7502
The Fish Keg2233 W. Howard Ave., 773-262-6603
Hagen’s Fish Market 5635 W. Montrose Ave., 773-283-1944
L. Isaacson and Stein Co. 800 W. Fulton St., 312-421-2444
Lake trout with Asian stir-fried vegetables
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
– This colorful summer dish, developed in our test kitchen, can be made with any freshwater fish if you like. Serve this with white or brown rice.
4 lake trout fillets, about 5 ounces each, skinned
Sauce:
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1 tablespoon each: sugar, minced cilantro
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded, minced
Vegetables:
2 tablespoons peanut oil
6 green onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 piece (2 inches long) ginger root, minced
1/2 pound green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 carrots, cut into long, thin strips
1 red bell pepper, seeded, cut into strips
1 jalapeno, seeded, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced Thai or regular basil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place fish in a lightly greased baking dish; set aside.
2. For the sauce, stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until the sugar dissolves. Drizzle 2 tablespoons over the fish; set remaining sauce aside. Bake fish until firm, moist and flaky, about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the peanut oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Add green onions, garlic and ginger; stir-fry until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add beans, carrots, bell pepper, jalapeno and basil; stir-fry until onion is translucent and pep-pers are soft, about 5 minutes.
4. Mix cornstarch and soy sauce in a small bowl; add vegetable broth. Add broth mixture to the vegetables. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Place vegetable mixture on large platter. Top with fish fillets. Garnish with lime wedges.
Nutrition information per serving:
379 calories, 44% of calories from fat, 19 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 81 mg cholesterol, 20 g carbohydrates, 33 g protein, 1,067 mg sodium, 4 g fiber
Poached whitefish with shiitake mushrooms
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
– Developed in the Tribune test kitchen.
3 green onions, thinly sliced
8 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bottle (8 ounces) clam juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lemon slice
2 whitefish fillets, about 10 ounces each, skinned, halved lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1. Heat the green onions, mushrooms, clam juice, wine, garlic and lemon slice to a boil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until very fragrant and mushrooms wilt, about 3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, season the fish strips with salt and pepper to taste. Roll the fillets into spiral rolls; secure with toothpicks or skewers. Place in the broth; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until fish is opaque, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove fish and mushrooms from poaching liquid with a slotted spoon; transfer to a plate to keep warm. Strain poaching liquid into a small saucepan; stir in the tomato paste. Cook over medium-high heat until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Pour sauce over fish.
Nutrition information per serving:
219 calories, 36% of calories from fat, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 89 mg cholesterol, 6 g carbohydrates, 29 g protein, 509 mg sodium, 1 g fiber
Walleye tacos
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Chilling/resting time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
– Coleslaw and spicy flaked fish combine in these tacos developed in the Tribune test kitchen. Serve with salsa, if you like.
Coleslaw:
1 bag (16 ounces) shredded cabbage and carrots
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup regular or light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Fish:
2 walleye fillets, about 6 ounces each, skinned
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon each: ground cumin, chipotle or regular chili powder
1/4 teaspoon each: dried oregano, salt
6 flour tortillas
1. For coleslaw, stir ingredients together in a large bowl; refrigerate, covered, at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. For fish, place fillets on a lightly greased broiler pan; brush with olive oil. Sprinkle cumin, chili powder, oregano and salt over fish; set aside to rest 15 minutes.
3. Heat broiler to high; place rack in center of the oven. Broil fish until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven; flake with a fork in a bowl.
4. Meanwhile, heat tortillas, in batches, in a dry skillet over medium heat until soft and puffy, about 2 minutes; turn with tongs. Cook 11/2 minutes. Remove to a plate; cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Fill each tortilla with shredded fish and coleslaw.
Nutrition information per serving:
305 calories, 55% of calories from fat, 18 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 41 mg cholesterol, 22 g carbohydrates, 12 g protein, 849 mg sodium, 3 g fiber
