News Photo by Michael Gonzalez A gillnet is displayed in the back of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Alpena Fisheries Research Station on Fletcher Street on Wednesday. The net is 6 feet tall and officials say typical gillnet length can go up to 20 feet.

ALPENA — Tony Radjenovich, president of the Coalition to Protect Michigan Resources, said the group still is considering whether to appeal a tribal fishing agreement approved by a federal judge on Aug. 24.

Radjenovich said the coalition has made no commitment but is weighing the pros and cons of its choices.

The agreement between four Native American tribes and the state and federal governments sets tribal fishing rules in different parts of lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior.

The new deal allows the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Bay Mills Indian Community, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians to put gillnets in more locations in the lakes, which has become a controversial topic among anglers and commercial fishers.

State fishery officials say gillnets catch large numbers of fish by the gill and suffocate the fish, meaning most fish die in the nets. Any fish not legally permitted to be used or sold will die and later be discarded, officials said.

Radjenovich said the gillnets devastate fish populations and said the approved fishing agreement needs more restrictions on the tribes’ use of them.

“Gillnets, they’re indiscriminate,” Radjenovich said. “There are less fish in the lake than the past two agreements that were made. The whitefish population is down because of invasive species, and these nets are going to kill fish that they aren’t targeting.”

Bill Rastetter, attorney for the Grand Traverse Band, told the Associated Press the agreement “fairly allocates the fishery resource among the competing interests.”

The News could not reach tribal representatives for comment on this story.

About 50 years ago, the state government outlawed gillnets, which upset tribal members because of the cultural significance of fishing to the tribes and the fact that gillnets are easier for small commercial fisheries when compared to trap nets, which guide fish into an enclosure and are less likely to kill them.

The Michigan tribes challenged the state rules in federal court and won in 1979. The federal rulings guiding tribal fishing in the Great Lakes were updated in 1985, 2000, and last month.

Dave Caroffino, unit manager of tribal coordination at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said the fishing agreement approved last month was in the works for nine years.

Tribes originally caught whitefish, but, because of declining populations from invasive species such as zebra mussels, they want to catch lake trout for commercial use.

Caroffino said that, because Great Lakes populations have changed since 2000, the agreement was set to be replaced in 2020, but was extended by three years for more negotiations.

“People are concerned about by-catch, which is when other fish get caught and die,” Caroffino said. “There are strict netting rules that decide which by-catch can be used or sold and ones that need to be thrown out. I’m looking at the judge’s final opinion and he saw the data. He said the coalition’s concerns are unfounded, and that it’s not as bad than some say.”

The latest federal ruling says mortality rates for whitefish will be regularly reviewed every six years.

As soon as the agreement was approved, a 60-day window opened for the tribes or the coalition to appeal the ruling. That would mean that Oct. 23 is the final day for either party to appeal.

“The two are polar opposites,” Caroffino said. “Some members of the tribes said the agreement was not even close to the amount that they should be allowed to do, while the coalition said too much is letting slip through.”