Sturgeon Conservation

Would you believe someone if they told you that some dinosaurs are not extinct? What if they said that they could be found right in our very own waterways?

Discover if there are indeed dinosaurs among us, or if that's just nonsense, by watching the four parts of this video series. You might be surprised by what you learn about one of the largest fish inhabiting the Great Lakes region and what is being done to prevent it from following the fate of most other prehistoric creatures. Don’t forget to dive into the discussion guide below to get even more background on sturgeon conservation. If you're a high school student, have a look at the lesson activity that will you to build off what's in the discussion guide. The educational partner below supported the video content. Click their link to access bonus learning opportunities.

Overview

Did you know that sturgeon have been around since the age of dinosaurs? No kidding – That’s a 150 million years! Discover this and more by watching the four parts of this science show and reading the information below. And to take this learning adventure into your classroom, have your teacher download the free Companion Discussion Guide at the bottom of this page so everyone can share in the fun of this inquiry based learning.

That makes sturgeon one of the rare remaining “living fossils” that still survive on Planet Earth. These huge fish are native to the Great Lakes region and had extensive and large populations in pre-settlement times. However, as settlement took place, people removed more fish than what the population could sustain because they are such a vulnerable fish species that take decades to reach maturity – plus they don’t spawn every year. In the late 1800s, dam construction on the Wolf River prevented the sturgeon from returning back to Menominee Tribal lands. That impacted both the fish and their cultural importance to the Menominee people. To help both the fish and preserve the cultural importance of the sturgeon to the Menominee Tribe, the Wisconsin DNR, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin have collaborated in a cooperative project to restore sturgeon to the upper Wolf River. This Into the Outdoors program and the related Serious Science videos and lesson guides explore the fascinating world of these living fossils and their relationship with us humans.

The four (4) parts to this Sturgeon Conservation episode of Into the Outdoors combined with the Classroom Discussion Guide below, will pack your brain with more fish science than a sturgeon has eggs! Well, almost. Share with your class. Everything here is free, fun and so interesting that you may want to become a scientist!

Plus, the educational partner noted below supported the video and companion lesson content here for all of us to learn from. They also offer other learning opportunities on their website. So click on their logo to discover more!

Advanced Overview

Female sturgeon will lay up to 60 pounds of eggs and then the males come in and fertilize those eggs. That’s half a million eggs. Then the eggs will incubate for about seven to 10 days. The eggs hatch as “fry”. They actually have food within them called a yoke sack that they use as their food source for a few days following hatching. Then they have to start feeding on other food sources. By the time they hit their first winter, these fish are typically in the 10 to 11-inch range. After that, the fish live in the upper Wolf River and eventually filter back down to Lake Winnebago as they hit their five to 10 years of age. Sturgeon males are typically about 14 years old before they are mature enough to spawn, while the females are 20 to 25 years old before they can spawn. Females spawn on the average every four years, while males spawn on an average every two years. Sturgeon can live up to 150 years.

The sturgeon in the Lake Winnebago system are the healthiest population in the world. This is because of the excellent habitat and food sources in Lake Winnebago. The main food source for sturgeon in the Winnebago system are called chironomids, or lake fly larvae. The lake fly population is so intense there that meteorologists can spot the big hatches of the flies on their weather radar. The other food source for sturgeon in the Winnebago system is more of a seasonal food source and that’s dead or dying gizzard shad. It’s a very fatty food source that helps them grow much bigger in a shorter period of time. Some scientists estimate over 20,000 of the giant fish in the Wolf River during spring spawning. One reason there are so many big sturgeon is the excellent habitat and food sources in Lake Winnebago.

Technology plays a key role in capturing so many of the big fish below the Shawano dam. The DNR captures sturgeon by using a method called “electro-fishing.” They send an electrical current into the river from electrodes that hang down into the water. A gas-powered generator on the boat makes the electricity that’s sent into the water from the “anode”. The electrical current flows through the water to the “cathode”. When a fish gets into the electrical field, the electrical current makes it swim towards the anode and it’s stunned enough to scoop them into a net. Once the sturgeon are captured, they are inspected and a PIT tag (passive induction transponder) is inserted into the fish to help keep track of them. Some of the big fish also get surgically implanted with an audio pinging device that helps record their movements in the river system for up to ten years. So by capturing and transplanting sturgeon above the dam, it gives the fish the chance to live and spawn in habitat that they haven’t been able to get to in 100 years. It’s also restoring an important part of Menominee history and culture.

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Into The Outdoors

Creating pathways to environmental awareness and outdoor lifestyles that empower our next generation to become sustainable stewards of Planet Earth.

Would you believe someone if they told you that some dinosaurs are not extinct? What if they said that they could be found right in our very own waterways?

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Overview

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