A new 150-metre long spawning area constructed for lake sturgeon in the Detroit River is working. And not only for lake sturgeon—walleye and lake whitefish are spawning there as well.
The lake sturgeon is a threatened fish species in Ontario. Photo: Todd Stailey
In the spring of 2009 and 2010, biologists observed spawning lake sturgeon and fertilized eggs in the spawning area, downriver from Detroit and Windsor. Biologists also captured small sturgeon larvae in a fine net just downstream ,indicating that the beds were definitely in use.
Similar evidence of walleye and lake whitefish spawning was also found, which seems to indicate the beds will be enhancing some high value fish populations.
The new spawning area was built in 2008, a nearly $300,000 construction project funded by 17 Canadian and U.S. partners, including MNR, which contributed about $65,000. It is situated off the northeast corner of Fighting Island, a 6.1-square-kilometre island owned by the BASF chemical company. The spawning bed is a configuration of 12 “mattresses” composed of layers of limestone bedrock and natural, river-rounded stone, each measuring 11 metres wide by 22 metres long.
The design was meant for optimum aeration of sturgeon eggs and to increase the eggs’ chances of survival. Happily, it has attracted reproducing walleye and lake whitefish as well, species that also prefer to spawn on rock and rubble.
The spawning bed project is reported to be the first fish habitat restoration project in the Great Lakes funded by Canada and the United States together.
Click here to view a map of the project area
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About the Detroit River’s Lake Sturgeon...
• Lake sturgeon, a threatened species in Ontario and Michigan, can grow up to 2.5 metres long and live a century. These prehistoric-looking fish were so plentiful in the Detroit River in the 1800s, there are stories of them being caught by the thousands and piled on shore like cordwood.
• Unfortunately, decades of over-fishing and the destruction of spawning habitat in the river led to an almost complete decline. By 2001, it was estimated that only one per cent of the former Detroit River sturgeon population was left.
• The 2009 visit by sturgeon to the Fighting Island spawning area, built by the U.S. and Canada together, is the first time in 30 years that lake sturgeon have spawned on the Canadian side of the Detroit River. Ministry of Natural Resources biologists hope this evidence of spawning means that lake sturgeon populations can one day be restored to higher levels in the Detroit River.
• Visit the Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan and the Detroit River Area of Concern to learn more about the Detroit River’s lake sturgeon.
Project Partners
- BASF Chemical Company Corporation
- DTE (Detroit Edison) Energy
- Detroit River Canadian Cleanup
- Environment Canada – Great Lakes Sustainability Fund
- Essex County Stewardship Network
- Essex Region Conservation Authority
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Great Lakes Renewal Foundation
- Great Lakes Science Center
- International Joint Commission
- Landmark Engineers Inc.
- Michigan Department of Natural Resources
- Michigan Sea Grant
- Michigan Wildlife Conservancy
- U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- U.S. Geological Survey
For more information, contact:
- Richard Drouin, Acting Manager, Lake Erie Management Unit, Ministry of Natural Resources, London (519) 825-7711
- Khahy Ho, Lake Erie COA Basin Coordinator, Lake Erie Management Unit, Ministry of Natural Resources, London (519) 873-4647