Sturgeon have been around since prehistoric times. At one point they were one of the most plentiful fish in the Saginaw River system.
But today, the species is declining in population and considered threatened. To help prevent them slipping into endangered status, groups have been raising and releasing sturgeon annually. These efforts have provided enough of a difference for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decline placing sturgeon onto the endangered species list last year.
In the Saginaw Bay region, the fish are taken care of by the Saginaw Bay Sturgeon Restoration group. They spend the spring and summer hatching and raising thousands of sturgeon to release them into different areas: the Tittabawassee River (Midland), the Shiawassee River (Chesaning), the Flint River (Flint), and the Cass River (Frankenmuth).
On Friday, the group hit a milestone of releasing 7,000 sturgeon into the river system.
"All of these fish will eventually make their way out of the Saginaw River system to Saginaw Bay and the rest of the Great Lakes," explained Michigan State University Sea Grant Educator Meaghan Gass. "But the hope is in the 2040's, because these fish take anywhere from 15-25 years to become adults, they'll come back to this area to respawn, prosper, and reproduce for many years to come."
On release day, the group invited the public to come join in the festivities and release a sturgeon themselves. Last Friday, over 100 people arrived to the Bob G. Caldwell Municipal Boat Launch in Midland to do just that.
The Saginaw Bay Sturgeon Restoration group has been working towards replenishing the species into the rivers since 2014.
"New research is finding that these fish can live to be over 200 years old and they can really be living Sentinels for the health of our waterways," Gass said. "So them coming back to the Saginaw River system is a really good sign for the health of this area in terms of its water improving. There's still more improvements we can make in terms of habitat and water quality, but this investment by state and federal partners to reintroduce sturgeon is so important."
People from all walks of life lined up to get into the Tittabawassee and add more sturgeon into the water.
Two of these participants were Haley (11) and William (7), homeschoolers from the region who attended the release as their first big outing of the school year.
Both of the kids gave a resounding "yes" when asked if they would want to do the event again, enjoying the experience and describing the fish as "bumpy."
The next sturgeon release event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 20. Information can be found on the Saginaw Bay Sturgeon Restoration webpage as it becomes available.
