First, it was a severe shortage of yellow perch in the Great Lakes region starting in the summer of 2019. Now tavern owners are facing a smelt shortage.
Tippy Tomchek, who will observe 36-years in business in Two Rivers at the end of June, tells Seehafer News he hasn’t had smelt on the menu since last summer.
“We got to the point that my bar manager put a sign on the door saying we do not have smelt,” he explained. “We got at least a dozen calls from people wanting smelt and at least a half dozen people coming every Friday wanting smelt. They’re gone, they’re not out there.”
Tomchek explained they get their fish from Susie-Q Market just down the street, and “They went out for smelt the first time and caught 30-pounds. The 2nd time and in one day caught 5 smelt, not 5 pounds but 5-smelt. The zebra mussel feeds on the same thing the smelt feed on and the invasive species wiped out what the smelt were feeding on.
The local business owner and president of the Manitowoc County Tavern League added, “Obviously, that’s what trout and salmon feed on too. Smelt have disappeared from Lake Michigan.”