In 1966, the Michigan DNR restructured the fishery management policies regarding the Great Lakes. Rather than focus on commercial fishing of whitefish, the state emphasized recreational fishing of this species. The state hoped to preserve, protect, and enhance fish as a resource; they would place commercial fishing as a public asset rather than a liability, and improve the sustainability and financial benefits of commercial fishing. By regulating the harvesting of whitefish, the DNR sought to restore lake trout and worked to develop more sustainable methods of fishing that protected the ecology of the lakes.
