**The title, authors, and abstract for this
completion report are provided below.  For a copy of the completion report,
please contact the GLFC via e-mail or via
telephone at 734-662-3209**

State-of-the-Art Approaches for Assessment of
Great Lakes Nearshore and Large River Fish Habitat*

C.M. Riseng1,
L. Wang2, M.J. Wiley1, E. Rutherford2, T.
Brenden3

*    Final Report to
the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, United States Environmental Protection
Agency, and Great
Lakes Fishery Commission

1        School
of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.

2        Institute
for Fisheries Research, Michigan Department of Natural Resources and University
of Michigan, 212 Museums Annex, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.

3        Quantitative
Fisheries Center, Michigan State University, 153 Giltner
Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824.

April 2008

ABSTRACT:

The Great Lakes coastal zone is utilized for spawning,
rearing, foraging and as over-winter refuge for a variety of Great
Lakes fishes.  These
habitats have received only limited study.
This makes it difficult to evaluate how impacts to these areas could
affect Great Lake fisheries.  A wide variety of methods for measuring
habitat quantity and quality are available.  However, methods differ in terms of
accuracy, spatial and temporal resolution, cost, and applicability to the Great Lakes region.
These differences make it difficult to accurately gauge what method may
be most appropriate for a particular research or management objective. In this
report, we identified and critiqued the effectiveness of existing techniques
used for fisheries habitat assessment, classification, rehabilitation, and
management in the Great Lakes, and provided analysis that could be helpful for
allocating research and management efforts in the Great
Lakes lower riverine and nearshore regions.
We identified several areas that should receive greater attention:
real-time monitoring data in large coastal rivers and estuaries; detailed local
channel habitat data for coastal rivers; large river floodplain structure and
function; high resolution bathymetry and substrate mapping for the Canadian nearshore zones; identification of the optimal methods for
using remotely sensed data to inventory coastal wetlands; further research
using remote data to estimate coastal productivity and water quality; and
development of a Great lakes Coastal Habitat Assessment Framework.  The report identifies technologies and
protocols that could be used to address these needs and suggests several pilot
projects that could significantly accelerate the development of coastal habitat
inventories, assessment, and science in the Great Lakes
region