The End of Fishtown?

Jim Carlson’s family has been fishing the waters of Lake Michigan for more than a century. While there used to be thousands of fishing operations like Carlson’s in the Great Lakes, that number has dwindled over the years. It’s estimated there may be only a few hundred left. Carlson says he could soon join that trend, if a year-old fishing treaty between the State of Michigan and five Native American tribes brings his family business to ruin. And that has his neighbors worried, too. That’s because on Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula, fishing and tourism rely on each other for survival. And the demise of Carlson’s business could have a profound impact on the local economy. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rick Pluta has the story: