Tape-recorded interviews with 55 Lake Michigan commercial fishermen conducted to determine and document ecological changes affecting commercial fishing on the Great Lakes. The interviews were conducted between March 1978 and November 1979 by Catherine Coberly for Ross M. Horrall of the Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. Excerpts were printed in the Institute's publication, Fish Spawning Grounds in Wisconsin Waters of the Great Lakes. Transcripts accompany 16 of the tapes.
In addition to the aforementioned topics, several interviews have a particular focus. In the Larry and Steve Ceskowski interview, the men discuss their father's life as a commercial fisherman from Jones Island, a Polish-German section of Milwaukee in the early 1900s. Julian Ellefson talks about the effects of lampreys on trout, his attitude toward the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), fishing laws in Illinois and Wisconsin, the different types of trout in different parts of the lake, and record-keeping. Harold Goodman also discusses characteristics of different types of trout as well as his work on an advisory council that helps the DNR set quotas and regulate licensing. Ray McDonald talks about his grandfather fishing off Washington Island in the 1850s, the sailboats used, and how the women knitted the nets. Hank Smith talks about the Wisconsin Conservation Department and its game wardens, how fishing was regulated in Illinois, and how politics affected Illinois regulations.
The contents list consists of an alphabetical list of the fishermen interviewed, the audio number(s) of the interview, the fishing area discussed (Wisconsin, unless otherwise noted), and an indication if a transcript is available.
