Catch of the Day
Great Lakes denizen gets nationwide attention
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Cleaner water, fishing limits, stocking programs are credited with beginnings of a recovery.
Great Lakes Echo (http://greatlakesecho.org/tag/Sturgeon/)
Cleaner water, fishing limits, stocking programs are credited with beginnings of a recovery.
The $5 million in awards will help protect bats, sturgeon and other wildlife.
From now through early June, volunteers will be standing guard over the Black River in Northern Michigan.
They’ll be on the banks of the river making sure that the lake sturgeon, a rare and threatened species in the state, are able to leave their homes in Black Lake and successfully spawn in the Black River.
Why do the fish need guarding?
Ann Feldhauser, who coordinates the program through the group, Sturgeon for Tomorrow, says the goal is to have a presence on the river 24/7 to prevent illegal taking of the fish.
Freshwater snorkeling is opening a window on Tennessee’s river biodiversity.
Could a similar effort in the Great Lakes region build a consitutency for conserving aquatic species here?
If you’ve been boating on the Great Lakes this summer, it might it surprise you to know that deep below you lives a rare species of fish that’s been around since the dinosaurs. It can live past 100 years old and can be over six feet long. Most of us know next to nothing about the lake sturgeon, but it is a fascinating creature with a stormy history. Nancy Auer is a professor of biology at Michigan Technological University. She recently co-authored a book with environmentalist Dave Dempsey about the fish.
Rearing sturgeon for stocking has proven to be difficult, uncertain and expensive, but it may be the only practical way to rebuild sturgeon populations in the Great Lakes.
Its size and age make the endangered lake sturgeon a fascinating species for most people. But for many Native Americans, the fish is also sacred. And it’s survival of greed, oil spills and habitat destruction signals that the sturgeon remains vigilant in protecting the environment.
Researchers studying the threats to lake sturgeon are using their findings to teach kids about the environment.
These fish live more than 70 years and grow to be more than six feet long. But they are so rare that the season ended this year once six were landed. The Black Lake Shivaree festival celebrates the prehistoric species.
Alright, sturgeon … they made your bed, now spawn in it.
Michigan organizations and agencies are building nine rock reefs in the Middle Channel of the St. Clair River to bolster native fish spawning and restore habitat.