Updated 2021-11-17 18:31:50
Lake Erie -> 3.0 Rehabilitation Species -> Sturgeon
Reporting Interval
2016 - 2020
Area
Lake Erie
Meeting Target?
Meets
Indicator Trend
No trend
Confidence?
Medium
Maintain or increase adult lake sturgeon abundance in existing spawning sites and establish an adult spawning stock in at least one new spawning location
Sustainable lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) spawning populations exist in the St. Clair-Detroit River System (SCDRS) and in eastern Lake Erie (Buffalo Harbor and the Upper Niagara River). Estimates of adult lake sturgeon exceed 20,000 fish in the Upper St. Clair River/Southern Lake Huron population and exceed 6,000 fish in both the lower St. Clair and Detroit River populations (Briggs et al. 2020). These population levels meet or exceed management targets (Sara Thomas, pers. communication). In eastern Lake Erie, estimates from data collected from 2013-2018 indicated a population of 889 adults, exceeding the management target of 750 adults established by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Withers et al. 2019; Holst and Zollweg-Horan 2018).
Rehabilitation efforts have begun or are being considered in several Lake Erie tributaries that historically supported lake sturgeon spawning. Stocking efforts in the Maumee River (OH) began in 2018 with the release of 3,070 juveniles; an additional 2,792 were released in 2019. Annual stocking is scheduled to resume in 2021 with the goal of establishing a spawning population of 1,500 adults (Collier et al. 2018). Efforts to assess spawning and nursery habitat is ongoing in other Lake Erie tributaries.
Methodology
- MDNR set line survey, North Channel of St. Clair River, 1996-present.
- MDNR trawl survey, Lake St. Clair, 1997-present.
- USFWS set line survey, Detroit River and St. Clair River
- USFWS gill nets, Buffalo Harbor/upper Niagara River, 2012-2018
- OMNDMNRF Habitat Suitability Index mapping in Ontario Tributaries, 2019-present
Other Resources
- Briggs, A., J. Hessenauer, M. Thomas, B. Utrup, and T. Wills. 2020. Trends and effects of a recreational Lake Sturgeon fishery in the St. Clair system. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 40:752-761.
- Collier, J., J. Bossenbroek, C. Mayer, J. Boase, J. Chiotti, C. Vandergoot, and E. Weimer. 2018. Maumee River Lake Sturgeon Reintroduction Plan. Available on request.
- Holst, L., and E. Zollweg-Horan. 2018. New York State's Lake Sturgeon recovery plan 2018–2024. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany.
- Withers, J., D. Einhouse, M. Clancy, L. Davis, R. Neuenhoff, and J. Sweka. 2019. Integrating acoustic telemetry into a Mark-Recapture Model to improve catchability parameters and abundance estimates of Lake Sturgeon in eastern Lake Erie. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 39:913-920.
Contributing Author(s)
- Eric Weimer - ODNR
- Justin Chiotti - USFWS
- Richard Drouin - OMNDMNRF
- Andrew Briggs - MDNR
- Chris Driscoll - NYSDEC