Should Michigan’s Lake Sturgeon Be An Endangered Species?

Should Michigan's Lake Sturgeon become an endangered species or should the current fishing rules for the elusive fish remain the same?

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Michigan's Lake Sturgeon

It is not every day that you see a Lake Sturgeon in Michigan's lakes, rivers, and streams but they are there thanks to fishing rules and limits and the work of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Sturgeon live longer than any other fish species in Michigan. Male lake sturgeon live an average of 55 years while females live 80-150 years

Read More: What You Need To Know About 2024 Black Lake Sturgeon Season |

A lake sturgeon in Michigan can weigh between 30-100 pounds and grow to 3-6 feet in length but this takes a lot of time to achieve so I could see how some people might think making them an endangered species but are they jumping the gun on this?

These magnificent creatures take a long time to mature and that is the key to their survival. Males take about 15 years and females 20-25 years to mature and be able to reproduce. This is why size limits and very limited bag limits are important.

Should Lake Sturgeon Be Added to the Endangered Species List?

According to FOX 17, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service believes Lake Sturgeon should be placed on the endangered species list and will make a decision by June 30, 2024.

On one hand, Lake Sturgeon takes so long to grow to maturity, and to be able to reproduce it might make sense to put them on the endangered species list. Since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife are the ones that decide for the country this could get tricky in Michigan where there has been a huge effort to maintain and grow the population while allowing anglers a few opportunities to catch these massive fish.

A lot of effort has been made in Michigan to preserve these majestic fish but if anglers are no longer allowed to catch them it will be more difficult for the DNR to monitor how the fish are trending in Michigan's lakes, rivers, and streams. The Black Lake annual ice fishing event was canceled for the first time because of the lack of ice but this a major event that allowed the DNR to see the result of the hard work that has been put into keeping these fish from extinction and now they lose that research.

Read More: MI's 2024 Black Lake Sturgeon Season Canceled First Time Ever

Hopefully, for Michigan anglers, the millions of dollars spent on keeping lake sturgeon from being endangered won't go away at the end of June this year.