In 1972, fertilized eggs of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) from the Marquette (Michigan) State Fish Hatchery (where levels of contaminants are relatively low) and eggs from lake trout collected in Michigan waters of Lake Michigan near Saugatuck and Charlevoix (where levels of PCB's and DDE are elevated) were incubated at hatchery temperatures (6° C) and at temperatures simulating the natural temperature cycle of Lake Michigan (1-8° C). Survival to yolk absorption of larvae from these three sources ranged from 40.3 to 65.5%, and no correlation was observed between survival and the level of PCB's and DDE in the eggs. Additional studies in 1975 with lake trout eggs from the same three sources confirmed previous observations that the elevated levels of PCB's and DDE in eggs from Lake Michigan did not appear to affect the percent hatch of lake trout eggs or survival of the fry to the swim-up stage. When fry hatched from eggs with an elevated contaminant burden were starved for several weeks, we observed no abnormal increase in posthatching mortality during the period when the yolk stores were being consumed.
