In partnership with SUNY Cobleskill and SUNY Oneonta, DEC built and installed three artificial reefs on the bottom of Otsego Lake to provide clean spawning habitat for lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), a native coldwater fish species that were once abundant in the lake. Up until the 1980s lake whitefish thrived in the lake, but populations collapsed due to the introduction of invasive alewife, zebra mussels and quagga mussels. Fortunately, the alewife population crashed in 2010, and is now believed to be extirpated, making restoration of coldwater fish species like lake whitefish, lake trout and cisco possible.

DEC Region 4 Bureau of Fisheries and Operations employees with SUNY partners constructed three new artificial reefs by hand. Placed at three predetermined locations in the lake, the reefs are comprised of cobble-sized rocks (with a water quality monitoring well in the center) and measure about 27’ long x 23’ wide x 3’ tall.

DEC will monitor the reefs in hopes they are used by spawning adult lake whitefish over the winter months. The reefs may also attract spawning lake trout and cisco, which require similar spawning habitats. With assistance from the U.S. Geological Survey, DEC also placed egg collection mats on the reefs to determine which species of fish are spawning and utilizing the reefs. This project is expected to run for the next five to 10 years where more reefs will be installed around Otsego Lake in historic and current lake whitefish spawning areas.

Partnerships, like those between DEC and SUNY institutions, demonstrate the power of collaboration and are essential in achieving sustainable ecological restoration and securing the future of native species like the lake whitefish.