Commercial fishing, once an important factor in the state's economy, is relatively minor today; the commercial catch in 1998 was 14,831,000 lb (6,727,00 kg) valued at $8,862,000. Principal species landed are silver salmon and alewives.
Sport fishing continues to flourish and is one of the state's major tourist attractions. A state salmon-planting program, begun in the mid-1960s, has made salmon the most popular game fish for Great Lakes sport fishermen. The state has also sought, through breeding and stocking programs, to bring back the trout, which was devastated by an invasion of lamprey. In 1998, the state issued 1,346,910 sport fishing licenses.
A bitter dispute raged during the 1970s between state officials and Ottawa and Ojibwa commercial fishermen, who claimed that Indian treaties with the federal government exempted them from state fishing regulations. The state contended that without such regulations, Indian commercial fishing would have a devastating impact on the northern Great Lakes' fish population. A federal court in 1979 upheld the Indians' contention; but in 1985, the state secured federal court approval of a compromise settlement intended to satisfy both Indian and non-Indian groups.