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| Sturgeon getting some long overdue respect | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 21 2008, 01:59 PM (274 Views) | |
| renegade | Feb 21 2008, 01:59 PM Post #1 |
Administrator
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Sturgeon may finally get some respect Doug Edgar / February 16, 2008 Owen Sound Sun Times You'll probably never see a starlet tearfully hugging a baby sturgeon. After all, it's a fish with a tube for lips and a hide covered in bony plates and tooth-like protrusions. It has cartilage instead of bones for a skeleton and can grow to hundreds of pounds over a lifetime that can easily surpass 150 years. Its ancestors were sucking little organisms off the bottom during the Devonian period, a time between 420 and 360 million years ago when some other fish were just starting to stump their way onto land. But the lake sturgeon was dealt a hard blow between about 150 and 100 years ago, when it was killed as a net-wrecking pest, then as a source of food. In some areas, sturgeon were dried out and their oily bodies were burned to power steam boilers on boats. Now the federal government, through the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, is considering whether or not the lake sturgeon should be protected under the Species At Risk Act. They want to hear from people one way or the other. "They're magnificent fish," said Fred Hnytka, a DFO species at risk biologist based in Winnipeg. The Ontario angling record for lake sturgeon, according to the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, is for a Georgian Bay fish caught by Toronto's Edward Paszkowski at the mouth of the Nottawasaga River in May 1982. It weighed 168 pounds, was 69 inches long and 42 inches in girth. That's less that half the size of one Hnytka has information about. Some kids cornered one in the shallows of a small river south of Winnipeg in 1903, killed it with an axe and hauled it out of the water with a team of horses, he said. It was weighed at some grain elevator scales. "I think it weighed in at 402 pounds," he said. "It's the biggest sturgeon I've seen in Canada for fresh water anyway." Lake sturgeon in Georgian Bay and Lake Huron fall into the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence population, which is being considered for protection as threatened. If the Lakes population is listed, it would be illegal to catch, kill or harm a lake sturgeon here, he said, although certain exceptions might be allowed for accidental catches, research and due to native cultural significance. DFO would also have to come up with a recovery strategy for the Great Lakes population within two years. That could affect rivers where the fish spawn and activities including boating and fishing, Hnytka said, but that part of the process is a long way down the road. "We don't want to speculate on what's going to happen. When we do that we're almost always wrong anyway," he said. Part of the reason for getting public opinion about possible protection of the species is to allow officials to figure out what impact such protection might have on people. "I really do want to hear from the people out there," Hnytka said. "They have tremendous insight." They've already had feedback from across the country - the Great Lakes population is just one of eight under consideration for varying levels of protection - with most early submissions in favour of protection. Sturgeon may not be a sought-after sports fish, but there's now a one-fish catch and possession limit for holders of a regular fishing licence in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron and in Fisheries Zone 16, which includes Grey and Bruce counties. Sturgeon live slow and long. They first spawn when they are 20 to 25 years old and after that only reproduce every three to five years, Hnytka said. They spawn in riffles and rapids in rivers and what they lack in frequency they try to make up for in volume, with females able to produce up to a million eggs. "The problem with a lake sturgeon fishery is that these things don't reproduce that quickly and once you reduce the population they're very slow to come back," Hnytka said. While commercial fishing might have been a problem in the past, dams that block river access and flood out riffles and rapids are among the things hurting sturgeon now, Hnytka said. The deadline for submissions about protecting the sturgeon is April 25. There's lots of information about the process and the species at [url=www.sararegistry.gc.ca]www.sararegistry.gc.ca[/url] - there's a search box where you can type in lake sturgeon, as well as links to a form to fill out. Comments can also be e-mailed to fwisar@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or called in to 1-866-538-1609. |
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| chevy man | Feb 21 2008, 03:51 PM Post #2 |
Walleye
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very good article, they used the sturgeon to power their boilers on the ship, now that is something i would of never thougt, i think we do need some sort of law to protect them ancient creatures, cause one thing is that its something else to be out fishing on the river bank when your line suddenly starts to zip out of your rod, after a lenghty battle wich you tought about a monster pike or huge eyes you see this med size strugeon come up, you are like that fish gave me that fight, awsome, take a picture then release him to see him again some day 
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| Final | Feb 21 2008, 04:55 PM Post #3 |
Salvelinus namaycush
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I agree a very good article I like this fish alot. I never caught one but would sure love to some sort of protection is a great idea I'm signing to protect them maybe my kids or their kids will be able to catch then release a monster. |
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| fishnhunt | Feb 21 2008, 10:03 PM Post #4 |
Smelt
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Agree with you both. fish... |
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| crisop | Feb 27 2008, 08:23 PM Post #5 |
Administrator
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i'm all for protecting these fish, i've never caught one and would like to try one of these days but not if they take so long to reproduce. I wouldn't want to catcha nd release it only to have it die |
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| fishnhunt | Feb 27 2008, 09:50 PM Post #6 |
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Smelt
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Crisop, the sturgeon fishery on the Frasier river in BC is exceptional. This from what I have researched, read, and also first hand from a very good friend who went two years ago. Most if not all of the anglers and angling outfitters have the utmost respect for these amazing fish. Many of the fish have been caught multiple times and released successfully. I too would love to go and fish for this awesome species. Was supposed to go last fall but home renovations took precedent. And this fall is a big anniversary so I doubt the wife will let me go. Or should I say it would probably not be in my best interest to attempt to make the trip this year. Maybe in 09. |
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| crisop | Feb 27 2008, 10:33 PM Post #7 |
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Administrator
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ya i've read that too fishnhunt, that's where i would like to go. they do have them around thunder bay but thier so few i'd rather go somewhere like the fraser river where there is lots of them |
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| fishnhunt | Feb 28 2008, 07:02 AM Post #8 |
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Smelt
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My friend went for a week and fished three days of the week. Between the two of them they caught 34. The largest being just over 7'. I have been told that there is a small population in the Detroit river which is only a couple hours from me but as you stated they are few and far between. |
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