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Oct. 20, 2016
Contact: Ed Baker, 906-249-1611 or Marty Holtgren, 231-547-2914, ext. 222
Seasonal lake sturgeon releases put nearly 8,000 fish into Michigan waters
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and several partners released more than 7,800 juvenile lake sturgeon into various public waters across the state this summer and fall in an effort to rehabilitate this culturally significant fish species.
The juvenile fish were collected from the wild last spring and reared in streamside facilities until they reached at least seven inches or larger in size. Most fish were tagged prior to being released into their respective rivers to allow future evaluations of stocked fish.
“Many of these stocking efforts were public events that shined a spotlight on how important lake sturgeon are to Michigan,” said DNR Fisheries Division Chief Jim Dexter. “Our state has a long history with lake sturgeon, and working with our partners helps us protect the species for future generations.”
These annual stocking efforts are critical to restoring the state’s lake sturgeon population. It takes the work of many partners to secure funding and resources to make the restoration possible. These partners include: the DNR, Black Lake Chapter of Sturgeon for Tomorrow, Kalamazoo River Chapter of Sturgeon for Tomorrow, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish band of Pottawatomi Indians, Gun Lake Tribe, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan State University, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service.
The table below shows which agencies stocked fish, how many were stocked, and the date and location of each stocking effort.
| Agencies |
Number of Fish Stocked |
Date Stocked |
Location Stocked |
| Michigan DNR |
434 |
June 20 & Sept. 15 |
Otsego Lake (Otsego County) |
| Michigan DNR & Michigan State University |
500 |
Aug. 20 & Sept. 15 |
Black Lake (Cheboygan County) |
| Michigan DNR & Michigan State University |
2,635 |
June 4-28 |
Lower Black River (Cheboygan County) |
| Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians |
239 |
Sept. 8 |
Burt Lake/Sturgeon River (Cheboygan County) |
| Michigan DNR & Michigan State University |
497 |
Sept. 15-22 |
Mullet Lake (Cheboygan County) |
| Michigan DNR |
997 |
Aug. 23 |
Cedar River (Menominee County) |
| Michigan DNR, USFWS & Gun Lake Tribe |
38 |
Aug. 29 |
Kalamazoo River (Allegan County) |
| Michigan DNR & Michigan State University |
765 |
May 8 - Sept. 27 |
Upper Black River (Cheboygan County) |
| Michigan DNR |
1,325 |
Sept. 12-20 |
Whitefish River (Delta County) |
| Michigan DNR & USFWS |
519 |
Oct. 5 |
Ontonagon River (Ontonagon County) |
| Total Lake Sturgeon Stocked: 7,864 |
For more information about lake sturgeon, visit Michigan.gov/sturgeon.
/Note to editors: An accompanying photo is available below for download. Suggested caption follows.
Thousands of juvenile lake sturgeon, around the size of the one pictured here, were stocked in Michigan waters this summer and fall./
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.
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