Lake Sturgeon

Rock sturgeon, freshwater sturgeon, Great Lakes sturgeon, stone sturgeon, red sturgeon, ruddy sturgeon, common sturgeon, shell back sturgeon, bony sturgeon, smoothback, rock fish, rubber nose, black sturgeon, dogface sturgeon

A giant among Wisconsin's inland freshwater fishes, the bottom dwelling lake sturgeon is a living fossil - a relic from the Middle Ages of fish evolution. This ancient species made its first appearance about 100 million years ago in the Upper Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era, just about the time that the dinosaurs made their abrupt exit from Earth#39;s ever-changing stage. Today the lake sturgeon retains many primitive characteristics that have been lost or modified in other modern-day fishes.

Seldom has a fish had such a tenuous relationship to humans as the lake sturgeon. The Winnebago, Ojibwa, Potawatomi, Oneida, and Sauk tribes revered the huge fish that can reach weights of several hundred pounds, but by 1860 the lake sturgeon was considered a nuisance by commercial fishermen, who stacked the fish like cordwood on shore and left them to rot. When fish processors realized the value of sturgeon roe (eggs) for caviar, discovered that sturgeon flesh was delicious fresh or smoked, and found that a high-quality gelatin called isinglas could be extracted from the sturgeon#39;s swim bladder, the Great Lakes sturgeon fishery exploded. The species was fished so intensively that lake sturgeon populations were reduced to a level from which they have never recovered.

The lake sturgeon is listed as a rare species in the United States. Wisconsin, however, is fortunate to have good, naturally reproducing lake sturgeon populations in the Lake Winnebago system and in several of the state#39;s major river systems.

For more information, please contact:

Karl Scheidegger, Fisheries Biologist
(608) 267-7498