"Evaluation of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)
populations in the St. Clair River
and Lake St. Clair, Michigan"
Supported by a
Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Grant 
Annual trawl assessment for lake sturgeon on Lake St. Clair, Michigan
Annual trawl assessment for lake sturgeon on 
Lake St. Clair, Michigan
Co-principle Investigators:
Michael Thomas and Robert Haas, Michigan DNR
 Study Objectives:
(1) determine spawning period, area distribution of spawning activity, and 
     characterize spawning habitat in the St. Clair River;

(2) determine early (juvenile) life history of lake sturgeon in the St. Clair River 
     and Lake St. Clair and identify habitat requirements of young lake 
     sturgeon;

(3) document lake sturgeon population parameters for Lake St. 
     Clair and the St. Clair River, including estimated abundance, 
     exploitation, age composition, growth rate, and age/sex composition of 
     the spawning stock.
     The study is a cooperative effort between MDNR, USFWS Alpena FRO 
     (Jerry McClain), and USGS-BRD Great Lakes Science Center (Tom Edsall). 
     USFWS staff at the Alpena FRO coordinate tag return data collection 
     with other fisheries research agencies and commercial fishing 
     operations in Lakes Huron and Erie.  USGS staff characterize spawning 
     habitat using remote underwater video, side-scan sonar, and acoustic 
     doppler current profiler.
 

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