Protecting Lake Sturgeon
Working Together
We're working with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and a number of other conservation organizations to help repopulate local habitats with healthy lake sturgeon.
Lake Sturgeon Need Our Help
Michigan's ancient underwater giants are amazing marine creatures, but they've been classified as "threatened" due to habitat destruction and their slow reproductive and life cycles.
On average, male lake sturgeon take 15 years to mature and females take 20 years. They only lay eggs every 3-5 years,
so they're very slow to reproduce compared to many other fish species!
Sturgeon have important jobs
Sturgeon sit atop the food chain and act as an indicator species that shows the health of Michigan waters. They help clean our lakes and rivers by eating detritus, or decaying organisms. They're also one of the few creatures that eat invasive species like zebra mussels.
Raising the next generation
We take in juvenile lake sturgeon each year and raise them to learn skills that will help them survive in the wild including hiding and foraging. After one year, we release the sturgeon back into local lakes where they'll continue to live out their lives. Sturgeon can live over 100 years!
How You Can Help
Join us in protecting lake surgeon:
- Don't eat sturgeon meat and caviar
- Clean all of your recreational equipment to help prevent the spread of invasive species and diseases
- Pick up trash on the ground and in the lakes
- Call the Report-All-Poaching number if you see anything that could harm Michigan’s sturgeon population