Wildlife

Volunteers guard Michigan’s spawning sturgeon

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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.

Water

Giant aquarium coming to metro Detroit mall

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By Greg Monahan
Great Lakes Echo

Starfish, seahorses and sharks are coming to a southeast Michigan shopping center. Crain’s Detroit reports Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills announced plans for the construction of a 35,000-square-foot aquarium that could be completed by this time next year. Sea Life Michigan will feature an array of tropical marine life, including sharks, rays and shrimp. It will also have a section to showcase aquatic animals from around the Great Lakes basin. The plans are a result of an agreement between Taubman Centers Inc., which owns Great Lakes Crossing, and UK-based Merlin Entertainment, which has helped construct six other Sea Life Centers in the United States, including the aquariums at the Mall of America in Minnesota and Legoland in California.

Wildlife

New permits allow fish net pens

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The program allows nonprofit groups to place net pens in Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and their tributaries to increase fish for recreational anglers.

Michigan and New York already allow such pens.

Wildlife

Battling the Bloom: Lake Erie

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Click here to watch Battling the Bloom: Lake Erie
In 1970, sections of Lake Erie were declared dead due to an excess of toxic algal blooms created by industrial pollution. But a little over a decade later, the lake went through a transformation that saw a return of wildlife and recreation to the area. Over the past five years, the blooms have returned. These blooms are largely caused by fertilizer and farmland waste nearby running off into Lake Erie. The video linked above discusses the past and current threats posed to Lake Erie by these blooms, and what scientists and conservationists are doing to stop them.

Echo

Virus found in Wisconsin trout

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State natural resource officials are wondering how a mysterious virus found its way to Wisconsin trout and what it will mean for the health of aquatic life.

Despite the uncertainty, state authorities confirm that they released 270,000 brown trout this year from hatcheries where fish tested positive for the cutthroat trout virus. An additional 160,000 had already been released last year before officials got the test results.

Wildlife

Ancient fish of the Great Lakes

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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.