The overall mission of Fisheries Division is to protect and enhance fish stocks and other forms of aquatic life and aquatic habitat, and to promote optimum use of these resources for the benefit of the people of Michigan. Specific goals have been identified to help the Division and Department achieve this mission:

• Protect and maintain healthy aquatic environments and fish communities, and rehabilitate those that are degraded.
• Provide diverse public fishing opportunities to maximize the value of recreational fishing to anglers.
• Permit and encourage economically efficient and stable commercial fisheries, which accommodate Tribal fishing rights and do not conflict with recreational fisheries.
• Foster and contribute to public stewardship of natural resources through a scientific understanding of fish, fishing, and fisheries management.

Each of these goals is pursued through strategic planning, and implementation of programs and actions that are specifically outlined in the Division's strategic plan. The major planning processes used to achieve these goals are briefly outlined here.

Fisheries Division began operating with watershed management boundaries and Great Lakes basins in 1998. The staffing and organization in the Division reflect these watershed boundaries. The Division utilizes planning processes based on each of the 4 Great Lakes Basins (Superior, Huron, Michigan and Erie) each with a basin coordinator who is responsible for guiding Division management, providing representation the Great Lakes Fish Commission, working with advisory and stakeholder groups, and coordinating Basin Teams. Each basin team is made up of unit managers, fishery biologists, technicians, and personnel from hatcheries and research from within the basin. Within each basin, management units are assigned to specific watersheds. While the boundaries are not straight lines or neat squares, this approach allows for continuity and recognition of the connectivity between upstream and downstream processes and facilitates. This approach to management is biologically sound and widely accepted in fisheries science. As an organizational tool, watershed management provides fishery managers with the best insight for making decisions about specific management actions as well as commenting on the effects of potential permitting actions.

Formal planning processes within Fisheries Division for aquatic resources include the development of River/Watershed assessments, application of regulations with a consistent biological and statewide approach, development of status of the fishery reports on key lakes or river segments, recovery and rehabilitation plans for individual species or key habitat areas, and designation of Natural Rivers for special protection.