St. Louis River Sturgeon Watch
It’s an exciting time for sturgeon in the St. Louis River. In 2011, four young sturgeon were collected in an area below the Fond du Lac dam by tribal biologists. This is the first evidence of sturgeon reproduction in the river in many decades.

Sturgeon and People
Lake sturgeon, the type of sturgeon found in the St. Louis River and other Great Lakes river systems such as the Mississippi, St. Croix and Chippewa, were once very abundant. Its scientific name is Acipenser fulvescens. Acipenser means “sturgeon” and fulvescens means a “dull yellow color.”

Lake sturgeon were so common in the Great Lakes they filled rivers during spawning and were discarded when caught by commercial fishermen. In the mid-1800s, the European taste for the meat caused a rise in demand for sturgeon. In addition to smoked sturgeon, lake sturgeon were used for leather and their swim bladders were used to make isinglass, a high-quality gelatin used for waterproofing, pottery cement and clarifying wine and beer.

The increased harvest, combined with habitat destruction and water pollution, caused their populations to decline rapidly. Today, ongoing projects seek to restore sturgeon populations. Sturgeon numbers are slowly increasing, however, it will take years before their populations rebuild to sustainable levels.

St. Louis River Sturgeon
Sturgeon were plentiful in the St. Louis River until the early 1900s. In addition to over-harvesting, their populations declined from river pollution and dam construction. Efforts to reestablish sturgeon in the St. Louis River began in 1983 with a sturgeon fingerling stocking program by the Wisconsin and Minnesota Departments of Natural Resources, which lasted until 2001.

To improve sturgeon spawning habitat, rocks and boulders were placed downstream of the Fond du Lac Dam during 2009 by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and The Nature Conservancy.

It’s taken many years, but these efforts have paid off. The oldest of the stocked fish have reached breeding age, and they are spawning in the natural and human-made riffles and pools of the St. Louis River as evidenced by the young sturgeon collected in 2011.

Sturgeon Recovery and River Recovery
Sturgeon recovery is tied to the recovery of the St. Louis River. The river is a designated Area of Concern (AOC). AOCs are places throughout the Great Lakes that were polluted by common past practices of dumping untreated waste on land and water. One of the issues associated with the St. Louis River AOC is degraded fish and wildlife populations. Progress to increase populations of native fish species such as the sturgeon will help address this issue.

The St. Louis River Alliance, a local non-profit organization, is working with many governmental agencies and organizations to protect and restore the river’s environmental quality with the ultimate goal of removing the AOC designation from the St. Louis River.

What You Can Do
Both Wisconsin and Minnesota now allow catch and release angling for Lake Sturgeon in the St. Louis River with a season that runs from June 16 of a given year to April 14 of the following year (example June 16, 2021-April 14, 2022). This information can be found in the respective state’s regulations book; Minnesota, Wisconsin.

There are two fish sanctuaries on the St. Louis River:

• Seasonal Sactuary: February 28-May 18, fishing prohibited upstream of HWY 23 to MN/WI border (this impacts Chambers Grove Park)

• Permanent Sanctuary: fishing is prohibited between the Fond du Lac Dam and the MN/WI border.

Limited sturgeon fishing is allowed in other locations of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan where sturgeon populations are stable. Check fishing regulations for each state for more information.

Click HERE to take a look at our Lake Sturgeon in the St. Louis River Brochure PDF