Swimming

Grand Rapids duo begins postpartum depression awareness swim across Lake Michigan

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:56:10 +0000

11:04 a.m.

Jeff and Sara Tow had to cut their swim across Lake Michigan short. The couple was publicizing the swim to raise awareness about postpartum depression. Strong currents in the lake and exhaustion were to blame.

From the Associated Press:

Young children should be supervised around water

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 28 May 2012 15:32:19 +0000

Drowning is the leading cause of injury related death among children less than 4 years of age. That's according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control.

Angela Minicuci is with the Michigan Department of Community Health. She says young children should be supervised around all sources of water both inside and outside of the house:

Swimming Upstream: Toxins in Great Lakes fish (part 7)

Rebecca Williams — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:56:00 +0000

Today, we wrap up our series, Swimming Upstream. Dustin Dwyer traveled all around the Lower Peninsula to gather stories for this series. And today we have a story we wish we didn't have to do. It's the story of toxins in our fish.

Here's Dustin's story:

A few weeks ago, Joe Bohr got a surprise. He's a researcher for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. He was looking at some numbers for PCB contamination in carp caught in canals in St. Clair Shores.

Swimming Upstream: Fishing for Science (Part 6)

Rebecca Williams — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:17:28 +0000

This week, we've been hearing stories about fish, for our series "Swimming Upstream." For today's story, Dustin Dwyer paid a visit to some researchers with the Department of Natural Resources. The DNR tracks fish populations at sites around the state. Dustin went aboard with the team on Lake St. Clair, and sent us this report.

Swimming Upstream: The mind of a fish (part 5)

Rebecca Williams — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:02:20 +0000

All this week, Dustin Dwyer has been bringing us fish stories from around the state for our series, Swimming Upstream. And for today's story, Dustin wanted to get into the mind of a fish. So, he met up with a charter boat captain on Saginaw Bay. Here's his story:

There's no evidence that fish understand irony. But if they did, they might find irony in the fact that the people who best understand them are the people who get paid to kill them - or at least injure their lips slightly.

Swimming Upstream: Fending off sturgeon poachers (part 4)

Rebecca Williams — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:18:32 +0000

This week, we're focusing on fish for our series Swimming Upstream. And today, Dustin Dwyer has a story about one of the most fascinating fish in the Great Lakes. Sturgeon have been around for more than 100 million years. Each fish can live more than a hundred years, weigh more than a hundred pounds and stretch eight or nine feet long. But sturgeon have also been the target of overfishing and poaching. Dustin caught up with one group in northern Michigan that's trying to save them. Here's his story:

So about a month or two ago, I was sitting along the bank of the Black River, way up near Onaway. And I was next to Jesse Hide, who has lived in this area all his life, and watched sturgeon all his life. We were keeping an eye out for sturgeon heading up the river to spawn.

“There's one coming up right there ... he's coming back down now.”

The long, spear-like fish occasionally poke their heads out of the water, like a submarine coming to the surface.

Swimming Upstream: A dam problem (part 3)

Rebecca Williams — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:23:26 +0000

All this week, we're focusing on stories about fish for our series, Swimming Upstream. Dustin Dwyer traveled all around the Lower Peninsula for the series, and for today's story, he went to the site of a former trout farm along the headwaters of the Manistee River, near Grayling. Dustin went to learn about the complex world of dam removal. Here's his story:

Swimming Upstream: The Fish Monger's Wife (part 2)

Rebecca Williams — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:47:03 +0000

Today we continue our series, Swimming Upstream. Dustin Dwyer took a road trip around the Lower Peninsula to bring us stories about fish. Yesterday we heard about the Petersens. They’re one of the few remaining non-tribal commercial fishing families in the state.

Today Dustin tells the story of the Fish Mongers Wife: 

It's a grey day at the Muskegon Farmer's Market, but Amber Mae Petersen is selling the heck out of some fresh Michigan whitefish.

“We're based here in Muskegon, my husband's family has been commercial fishing here for 75 years. So we sell what we catch.”

The vacuum-sealed bags of whitefish filets, and packages of smoked whitefish are disappearing quickly. Petersen's husband Eric stands next to her, packing the fish in ice and wrapping it in old copies of The Muskegon Chronicle.

“It's the only way to do it.”

Swimming Upstream: The shrinking commercial fishing industry (part 1)

Rebecca Williams — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:11:29 +0000

Today we begin a series called Swimming Upstream. It's about one of Michigan's most valuable natural resources: fish. These slimy, scaly water dwellers contribute to the ecology of the Great Lakes, our economy, and, of course, our dinner plate.

Reporter Dustin Dwyer has traveled all over the lower peninsula to gather these fish stories for us, and he starts with a simple question: why can it sometimes be so difficult to buy fresh fish caught in Michigan?

Here's Dustin's story: