As of today, it is illegal to take state-endangered cisco from Indiana lakes.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced the new fishing prohibition based on the Indiana Natural Resources Commission changing the status of the fish from a species of special concern to endangered this fall.
Cisco only remain in seven lakes in northeastern Indiana. In 1955, the species could be found in 42 northern Indiana lakes, including the Lake James chain in Steuben County.
It is the only native fish from the salmon family in Indiana waters other than Lake Michigan. It is a cold-water species that requires exceptional water quality to thrive. The glacial lakes of northern Indiana represent the southernmost extent of the speciesâ range in North America.
Cisco Is Now An Endangered Species And Illegal To Catch
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Article origination IPBS-RJC
DNR Division of Fish &Wildlife fisheries aide Aaron Voirol holds a cisco captured at Crooked Lake during a 2019 fish community survey.
Courtesy of Indiana DNR
Last month, Indiana declared three animals endangered species in the state including a native coldwater fish called the cisco. Because runoff pollution and algal blooms have polluted its habitat, the fish’s numbers have been going down for decades.
Back in the 1950s, ciscoes lived in more than 40 lakes in the state. Now they only live in seven in northeast Indiana Failing Lake, Indiana Lake, North Twin and South Twin lakes, Lake Gage, Eve Lake, and Crooked Lake.
December 13, 2020
(UNDATED) – Starting Dec. 17, it will be unlawful for anglers to take or possess the cisco species of fish, per IC 14-22-34-12, which protects state-endangered species.
The change is a result of action taken this fall by the Natural Resources Commission (NRC). Previously, this native fish was listed as a species of special concern.
Cisco (
Coregonus artedi) is the only native fish from the salmon family found in Indiana waters other than Lake Michigan. It is a cold-water species that requires exceptional water quality to thrive. The glacial lakes of northern Indiana represent the southernmost extent of the species’ range in North America.