Saginaw Bay sturgeon release will surpass 5,000 fish milestone

Conservation partners plan to release a hundred young lake sturgeon Aug. 19 into Saginaw Bay tributaries.

Exactly 4,997 hatchery-raised sturgeon have been released in the Saginaw Bay since 2017.

This year’s release will surpass the 5,000 mark - inching the threatened species closer to a self-sustaining population.

Meaghan Gass is an extension educator with MSU and the Michigan Sea Grant program. She said the annual release is a way to celebrate the sturgeon’s return to the Saginaw River system.

“Along with all of the water quality improvements, along with improved land use management - all of that has led to where now we are making these investments to bring the surgeon back,” Gass said.

Lake sturgeon were historically abundant across Michigan, but due to overfishing, pollution, damming and river erosion, the overall population plummeted. In Saginaw Bay, Gass said the remnant populations were no longer reproducing, spurring the need for restoration.

It takes male sturgeon at least 15 years and female sturgeon, 20, to be able to spawn. Gass said researchers will have to wait before they can gauge the project's success, but sightings of sturgeon in the river system are increasing.

"We may have impacted them, but now we can be a part of bringing them back," Gass said. "The sturgeon coming back is a great sign for the overall restoration of the Saginaw River system, and we still have more work to do."

Research focused on tracking sturgeon populations and understanding their movements through the bay are ongoing. In the meantime, Gass said she hopes the event will inspire appreciation for these dinosaur fish.

"[If you come out], you will likely have a great experience, getting to connect with others that are excited about sturgeon and see these really cool fish firsthand," Gass said. "And then hopefully, we'll be seeing these juvenile fish turn into adults years down the line."

There will be four public releases Aug. 19 in:

• Chesaning @11 a.m. in Cole Park
• Midland @1 p.m. at the Bob G. Caldwell Municipal Boat Launch
• Flint @2 p.m. at the Paddlers’ Landings (Mott Park Recreation Area).
• Frankenmuth @3 p.m. at the Gunzenhausen Walkway

For more information about the sturgeon in Saginaw Bay, visit the website on the restoration program.