Lake Sturgeon Assessment Assistance by Great Lakes Commercial Fishers

Currently there is no commercial fishing for lake sturgeon, (Acipenser fulvescens), in U. S. waters of the Great Lakes and sport fishing is limited. Canada allows commercial harvest from Ontario waters of Lake Huron only. Lake sturgeon is considered threatened or endangered by 19 of the 20 states within its original range in the U.S. Lake sturgeon abundance was reduced dramatically in the late 1800’s by commercial overfishing and habitat degradation. The life history characteristics of lake sturgeon, late maturity and infrequent spawning after maturity, prevent populations from rebounding quickly after such catastrophes. Fishery agencies are providing training and equipment to commercial fishers for data collection from lake sturgeon. Commercial fishers gather biological data and tag lake sturgeon incidentally caught, release the fish, and provide the data to fishery management agencies. This arrangement was initiated in Lake Huron in 1995, and has been expanded to Lakes Michigan, Superior, and Erie. Since 1995, nearly 700 incidentally caught lake sturgeon have been encountered b