Huron-Erie Corridor Initiative

Lake Sturgeon Restoration in the Detroit River

Federal biologists were surprised to catch two juvenile lake sturgeon in gillnets set off SE Fighting Island in November 2006 (see attached image). Not only were these juvenile lake sturgeon the first caught in this river since about 1960, but the catch of two more juvenile lake sturgeon at this location in late November 2006 suggests that juvenile lake sturgeon congregate in this area of the river in the late fall. Because juvenile lake sturgeon are caught so rarely in general and we know very little about the habitats they occupy in the Huron-Erie Corridor, these catches show where future assessment efforts for young sturgeon can be focused to characterize their habitat more adequately.

Juvenile lake sturgeon caught in the Detroit River in November 2006. The smaller fish is a young of the year, the other fish is 1 year old. Photo by U.S. Geological Survey.

Perhaps the lack of modifications to the river in the area of SE Fighting Island, i.e. the natural, earthen shorelines and undredged channels along mainland Ontario in this area, may explain why juvenile sturgeon live there. Because we have no evidence that lake sturgeon spawned on beds constructed at Belle Isle in 2004 (see link at right), there is no apparent relationship between Belle Isle and the find of juvenile lake sturgeon 15 miles downstream at SE Fighting Island. These juvenile lake sturgeon most likely originated from adult lake sturgeon that spawn at Zug Island, their one known spawning site in the Detroit River. The discovery of these young sturgeon show that the remnant, native population of adult lake sturgeon in the Detroit River is reproducing to a small extent. They are protected from harvest (i.e., no possession by fishermen) throughout the Detroit River by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Map of the Detroit River showing the home area of lake stugeon and Zug Island, the one known sturgeon spawning area in the river