8,000 sturgeon released into Black River
Biologists are still learning about the fish
By SHERI MCWHIRTER
Record-Eagle staff writer
ONAWAY - The ancient sturgeon may make a comeback in Michigan.
A new sturgeon hatchery released up to 8,000 fish into the Black River to help replenish the Black Lake sturgeon population and gain valuable biological information.
Efforts to study the prehistoric fish in a hatchery that uses river water are funded by the state and a $200,000 grant from Great Lakes Fishery Trust. The facility near Onaway was built this year after years of planning by the Black Lake chapter of Sturgeon for Tomorrow.
Chapter president Brenda Archambo said the group focuses on inland lake sturgeon population recovery and research.
"They swam when the dinosaurs walked the earth," she said.
Lake sturgeon grow as long as seven feet, weigh up to 200 pounds and have a slow reproductive cycle. Female sturgeon don't mature for about 20 years and spawn every four-to-six years.
The hatchery's goals are to learn the best age to release the fish and to determine whether it's better to rear them in traditional hatcheries or in river water, said Patrick Forsythe, a Michigan State University graduate student on the project.
Scientists have little information about lake sturgeon during the first three years of their life. Sturgeon can live more than 100 years. It's unusual to find them in nature before they're 3 years old and already 3 feet long, biologists said.
It may be possible to glean recovery methods from hatchery operations for use in other areas where sturgeon populations are threatened, Forsythe said.
Lake sturgeon are classified as endangered in Canada, but not by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. However, other sturgeon species are listed as endangered or threatened.
Historical threats to sturgeon include exploitation of natural stocks due to high demand for the smoked flesh and eggs for caviar, dam construction that cut off spawning areas, pollution and loss of habitat.
Hatchery researchers used artificial spawning and collecting naturally-fertilized eggs and larvae from the Black River. Releases at nine weeks and 15 weeks seemed successful, with a third release planned for October.
Biologists are still learning about the fish
By SHERI MCWHIRTER
Record-Eagle staff writer
ONAWAY - The ancient sturgeon may make a comeback in Michigan.
A new sturgeon hatchery released up to 8,000 fish into the Black River to help replenish the Black Lake sturgeon population and gain valuable biological information.
Efforts to study the prehistoric fish in a hatchery that uses river water are funded by the state and a $200,000 grant from Great Lakes Fishery Trust. The facility near Onaway was built this year after years of planning by the Black Lake chapter of Sturgeon for Tomorrow.
Chapter president Brenda Archambo said the group focuses on inland lake sturgeon population recovery and research.
"They swam when the dinosaurs walked the earth," she said.
Lake sturgeon grow as long as seven feet, weigh up to 200 pounds and have a slow reproductive cycle. Female sturgeon don't mature for about 20 years and spawn every four-to-six years.
The hatchery's goals are to learn the best age to release the fish and to determine whether it's better to rear them in traditional hatcheries or in river water, said Patrick Forsythe, a Michigan State University graduate student on the project.
Scientists have little information about lake sturgeon during the first three years of their life. Sturgeon can live more than 100 years. It's unusual to find them in nature before they're 3 years old and already 3 feet long, biologists said.
It may be possible to glean recovery methods from hatchery operations for use in other areas where sturgeon populations are threatened, Forsythe said.
Lake sturgeon are classified as endangered in Canada, but not by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. However, other sturgeon species are listed as endangered or threatened.
Historical threats to sturgeon include exploitation of natural stocks due to high demand for the smoked flesh and eggs for caviar, dam construction that cut off spawning areas, pollution and loss of habitat.
Hatchery researchers used artificial spawning and collecting naturally-fertilized eggs and larvae from the Black River. Releases at nine weeks and 15 weeks seemed successful, with a third release planned for October.
