Lake sturgeon gather to spawn in the Wolf River system in Wisconsin FWS photo

fingerling lake sturgeon being released into Red Lake FWS photo

The Genoa National Fish Hatchery (NFH) raises lake sturgeon for ongoing restoration efforts involving three states and four Native American reservations.  This summer saw a record 63,000 lake sturgeon being raised to 6-7 inches, which met or exceeded all existing stocking commitments.  This large amount of fish being successfully reared allowed sturgeon to become available for a number of research projects. Working closely with Dr. Chunbo Zhang and graduate research assistants from the Illinois Institute of Technology, sturgeon at many stages of development were provided by the hatchery to the University to examine sturgeon olfactory development.  This is in hopes of determining whether sturgeon return to their natal streams to spawn by using their sense of smell. The Missouri Department of Conservation is also examining lake sturgeon migration and movements post stocking by tagging sturgeon supplied by Genoa with PIT tags.  Southern Illinois University also acquired 800 8-inch lake sturgeon to study the feasibility of long-term marking sturgeon with isotopes.  Restoration programs also received more than 58,800 fall fingerling sturgeon to meet stocking requests made in long-term sturgeon restoration plans.  This 2008 class, accompanied with subsequent years of production and careful habitat conservation, will ensure the chances that lake sturgeon populations in the Midwest will be restored and viable for future generations to enjoy.