Trends and Effects of a Recreational Lake Sturgeon Fishery in the St. Clair System

Abstract

AbstractOne frequently desired outcome of Lake Sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens rehabilitation is to create a recreational fishery for the species. However, few waterbodies offer a recreational fishery where anglers can catch Lake Sturgeon regularly. Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River (hereafter, “St. Clair system”) contain large, stable populations of Lake Sturgeon, and a recreational fishery allowing harvest has been present since 1950. Over the last several decades, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) has monitored the recreational Lake Sturgeon fishery in the St. Clair system by using numerous methods to assess angler participation, harvest rates, and population effects of the fishery. Lake Sturgeon anglers in the St. Clair system are predominantly male (89%) and largely reside in the three nearest counties (72%), although the geographic footprint of Lake Sturgeon anglers appears to be increasing. Estimates of angler abundance, trends in angler recapture of tagged Lake Sturgeon, sturgeon harvest data, and reported capture of MDNR “Master Angler”‐sized Lake Sturgeon by anglers all indicated that angling effort in this Lake Sturgeon fishery has steadily increased since monitoring began. Despite increasing angler participation, the recreational fishery has had no detectable population‐level effect on Lake Sturgeon in the St. Clair system. Harvest rates of tagged Lake Sturgeon are low, with most anglers practicing catch and release. Recapture rates of angler‐caught fish in comparison to MDNR survey‐caught fish suggested that hooking mortality is low. Additionally, apparent survival estimates of Lake Sturgeon have been constant. Information gained from monitoring the recreational Lake Sturgeon fishery in the St. Clair system will be valuable to managers assessing whether to establish a sturgeon fishery in other systems.