Poll Finds Most Michiganders Don't Want Fish Farms In Great Lakes Waters

A new poll finds most Michigan residents don’t want fish farms in the Great Lakes.

Legislation introduced in Lansing would allow for the expansion of net-pen aquaculture into the Great Lakes waters.

But a survey by Lansing-based EPIC-MRA found 7 out of 10 Michiganders oppose the move.

State Senator Rick Jones is sponsoring a bill to ban fish farms in the Great Lakes. He says the poll is proof of the overwhelming opposition to net-pen aquaculture.

Dan Eichinger, Executive Director of Michigan United Conservation Clubs, says allowing fish farms in the lakes raises environmental concerns, including the dumping of untreated waste, disease transmission and the possibility of escaped fish breeding with wild fish, weakening the genetic diversity.

Supporters of expanding aquaculture say it will turn Michigan into a larger fish producer.

The poll of 600 Michigan residents had a margin of error of four-percent.