In a move aimed at preventing sturgeon from extinction in Black Lake, Michigan, 500 juvenile fish were released into the Saginaw River.
The release is part of a 20-year effort by Michigan State University and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to prevent sturgeon from going extinct in the lake.
As part of the project, the Black Lake Stream Side Rearing Facility was opened to supply sturgeon to the lake as well as other locations around the state. The program aims to restore the population to a sustainable level. The teams hope that there efforts will give this majestic fish a shot at survival.
According to Ed Baker, the manager of the DNR Marquette Fisheries Research Station:
“We don’t want to be stocking lake sturgeon in perpetuity. We want to get the population to the point that it can sustain the recreational harvest that is occurring without that harvest causing the population to decline again. Most of the fish that were lost during that 20-plus-year period were harvested illegally.”
