Abstract
The isinglass returns for the Hudson's Bay Company Lac la Pluie District have been used to estimate the Ojibway harvest of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) from 1823 to 1885. The majority of these fish were taken in the Rainy River from spawning runs originating in Lake of the Woods. American commercial fishing of sturgeon in Lake of the Woods began in 1888, with commercial operations on the Canadian side following within a few years. Initially high production levels characterize the non-Ojibway fishery for the first 20 yr, with rapid declines due to depleted sturgeon populations in the following years. Similar responses to commercial sturgeon fishing in other areas have led many to conclude that fisheries stocks could not support a significant sustained commercial fishery. In contrast, the Ojibway harvest during 63 yr of fur trade records indicates potential for a substantial sustained commercial sturgeon harvest from the Lake of the Woods basin. The same conclusion is not evident from American and Canadian records of sturgeon harvests from the same drainage basin.
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