First batch of young sturgeon to be released

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

The new sturgeon hatchery, high on a bluff overlooking the Black River, is marking a major milestone this weekend. Officials involved in the project plan to gather Saturday at the Black River Streamside Lake Sturgeon Rearing Facility to celebrate the release of the first batch of young sturgeon raised there.

?This is the first year this facility has been in operation,? said Benjamin Rook, Michigan State University PhD. student. ?This year we are going to be releasing 1,700 fish.? The ceremony is Saturday at 11 a.m. Tours of the facility had been taking place this week.

THE HATCHERY was built under an agreement with hydropower producer Tower Kleber LP, which operates the dam. The building is located near historic spawning areas, making it easier to collect eggs and sperm from a threatened species of fish. The goal will be to stock Black, Burt and Mullet lakes with a total of 3,000 sturgeon a year. The capacity of the facility is for 5,000.

The main room of the facility has tanks of varying size. As the fish get larger, staff move them from tank to tank until they are ready to be released. The facility is for rearing and research, but the whole purpose is survival.

?IN THE RIVER, from egg to when they actually make it down to the river, it is less than one percent survival,? said Rook, standing next to one of the larger tanks holding the sturgeon to be released tomorrow. ?Here in the hatchery from egg to this point in time is 10 to 20 percent, depending on the condition of the eggs.?

MSU, in partnership with Sturgeon for Tomorrow, had a facility in operation for a couple of years, but Rook said the new building will give researchers a more permanent location to help get the population numbers back up.

“The efforts of the people at Tower-Kleber have been extraordinary; they worked through difficult weather conditions and under a very tight schedule to construct the facility in time to produce sturgeon this year,” said Dave Borgeson, the Northern Lake Huron Unit manager for the DNR.

Sturgeon rehabilitation efforts have attracted a number of partners, including Sturgeon for Tomorrow (SFT), a nonprofit group dedicated to the future of lake sturgeon.

MEMBERS OF SFT’s Black Lake Chapter have volunteered thousands of hours to “Sturgeon Watch,” an effort to pr

otect vulnerable adult sturgeon during the spawning run, and have contributed thousands of dollars for habitat protection and sturgeon research efforts. “Sturgeon for Tomorrow stepped up huge for us this year by purchasing the food needed to raise this batch of fish,” said Dr. Kurt Newman, Lake Huron coordinator for the DNR.

“We’re just ecstatic about the new rearing facility,” said Brenda Archambo, SFT president. “It will allow us to continue our efforts to restore the sturgeon population, as well as offer a great opportunity for public outreach and education.”

The facility is located at the Kleber Road crossing of the Black River, approximately three miles north of Tower.

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