Wisconsin Sturgeon

Fishing Wisconsin

Mysteries of the Great Lakes - Lake Sturgeon

Through the magic of IMAX, travel to the 'inland seas' in "Mysteries of the Great Lakes" [exit DNR], and dive underwater with a 200-pound sturgeon making her spawning run up Wisconsin’s Wolf River.

Mysteries of the Great Lakes

This Science North Production takes the audience on a journey through some of the world's most spectacular scenery. It stars Wisconsin’s lake sturgeon and the fish biologists and citizens who are dedicated to sustaining this ancient species and restoring it to the Great Lakes.


The film also tells of the dramatic stories of the recovery of the bald eagle (also filmed in Wisconsin), about woodland caribou on Slate Islands, and of the shipwrecks that litter the Great Lakes. But it’s the lake sturgeon, the world’s oldest and largest freshwater fish, that is featured throughout, along with DNR fish supervisor Ron Bruch.

"Mysteries of the Great Lakes" is showing through March 19, 2009 in the Humphrey IMAX Dome Theater [exit DNR] at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Mysteries of the Great Lakes

The Lake Sturgeon

Director and Producer: David Lickley

David Lickley

David is the director and producer of "Mysteries of the Great Lakes".

David Lickley is the Director of Large Format Films at Science North. As a biologist turned filmmaker, David's passion for the natural world is evident in his films delivering a message of conservation for future generations.

He joined Science North in 1984 and pioneered a unique multimedia experience called "object theatre." Based on this concept, David’s first film, "Shooting Star", a 3-D 70mm film and laser show made its debut and over the years played to thousands of viewers in the Science North Cavern.

In 1999, he produced and directed "Gold Fever", runner up for best IMAX film at La Geode International IMAX Festival that same year. Following the success of "Gold Fever", "Bears" hit the giant screen in 2001. David then traveled to Gombe National Park in Tanzania where he filmed "Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees", a collaboration between Science North, the Science Museum of Minnesota, Discovery Place in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Jane Goodall Institute.

David is currently working on several films in development including "Arctic Odyssey – Journey to the Top of the World" and "Wild China - Land of the Panda".

Wisconsin is essentially the star of the film. There's a huge a amount of Wisconsin content and that's a tribute to the story we were able to develop around and the lake sturgeon and Ron Bruch.

David Lickley, Science North Senior Producer

Listen to soundbites by David Lickley

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Cast of the Film: Ron Bruch

Ron Bruch

Ron Bruch has dedicated his entire career to saving the lake sturgeon.

Dr. Ronald Bruch, a Senior Fisheries Biologist/Work Unit Supervisor with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, is featured as one of the main interviewees and characters in "Mysteries of the Great Lakes".

When Ron first held a sturgeon as a child, it was love at first sight. From that moment, he knew that he wanted to make the protection of sturgeon his life’s work. He continues to be a passionate advocate for the conservation of this ancient species of fish.

Ron, who holds a doctorate and master's degree in zoology and a bachelor's degree in biology, serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Applied Ichthyology and is a member of several sturgeon conservation groups including the World Sturgeon Conservation Society. He has written numerous scientific publications regarding the health of sturgeon populations in the Great Lakes region.

Listen to soundbites by Ron Bruch

Note: the following interview is also available for download. Click on the soundbites tab.

Lake Sturgeon Fast Facts

  • The lake sturgeon is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world and is considered a living fossil because it has survived - virtually unchanged - for over 100 million years.
  • Lake sturgeon can grow to weigh an astonishing 300 pounds (135 kg), and can live to be nearly 200 years old. One caught in 1921 in Batchawana Bay of Lake Superior was 7.5 feet (2.3 m) long and weighed 310 pounds (141 kg).
  • At one point, lake sturgeon were so plentiful that it represented 90 percent of the Great Lakes biomass.
  • Sturgeon are highly vulnerable to pressures of overfishing, pollution, and habitat degradation because of their slow growth and infrequent spawning. Female sturgeon reach sexual maturity at 20 to 25 years and spawn only once every three to five years.
  • In the late 1800s, due to over-fishing and the destruction and pollution of their spawning beds, lake sturgeon populations in the Great Lakes crashed.
  • Lake sturgeon will travel great distances over their lifetimes, but will always return to the streams in which they hatched to spawn.
  • The lake sturgeon is a threatened species in the United States.

Lake Winnebago System Lake Sturgeon

  • The Lake Winnebago System in Wisconsin supports a naturally produced lake sturgeon population that is the largest within its native range.
  • The DNR’s century-old sturgeon management program and citizen commitment have enabled sturgeon numbers to grow from about 11,500 total spawning adults in the 1950s to an estimated 38,000 spawning adults today
  • Lake Winnebago’s robust lake sturgeon population and careful management enable the state to offer North America’s largest winter spear fishery, with an annual average harvest of 1,400 fish and annual economic impact of more than $3 million dollars to the Winnebago region.

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Sturgeon Photos

Thumbnails link to larger images.

Photos provided by Science North Production

Thumbnails link to larger images.

Photos provided by Lisa Gaumnitz, DNR Public Affairs Manager

Last Revised: Monday February 09 2009