CHEBOYGAN CO. -- Anglers are gearing up for the anticipated Lake Sturgeon season in Cheboygan County.
The 2011 season quota set by the Department of Natural Resources is seven, up from the five fish quota in 2010.
The season officially starts Saturday on Black Lake. The season ends either at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, February 9 or when the seven-fish quota is reached.
Anglers are reminded to register daily. Anglers 17 years of age or older must possess a valid restricted fishing license. All anglers must possess a lake sturgeon tag, available free from all license vendors.
Anglers must register at the entrance to Onaway State Park or on the northwest shore of Black Lake at Zollner Road near F05.
Registration begins at 7 a.m. daily. Anglers will be issued a daily disposable flag at registration that must be displayed at the entrance of the angler's shanty.
Anglers that harvest a lake sturgeon must immediately tag the fish, and immediately register the fish at the DNRE Onaway Field Office.
Registration may include an examination of internal organs and removal of a piece of fin tissue for DNA analysis. In the event the seven-fish quota is reached prior to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 9, anglers will be notified on the ice by DNRE personnel at which point they must immediately stop fishing for lake sturgeon.
Recent changes in registration logistics were developed cooperatively with Sturgeon for Tomorrow, a conservation organization based around Black Lake.
The new system allows greater participation by anglers while protecting the population of lake sturgeon in Black Lake from overharvest. Rehabilitation of lake sturgeon in the Cheboygan River watershed is a cooperative effort involving the DNRE, the Black Lake Chapter of Sturgeon for Tomorrow, Michigan State University and Tower-Kleber Limited Partnership.
Anglers may call the DNRE's Gaylord Operations Service Center at 989-732-3541 for more details.
The lake sturgeon, a remnant of the dinosaur age, is considered a species of special concern by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a threatened species in North America by the American Fisheries Society, a globally rare species by the Nature Conservancy, and a threatened species in the State of Michigan.
The lake sturgeon population in Michigan is estimated to be about one percent of its former abundance. The Huron-Erie corridor was, at one time, one of the most productive waters for lake sturgeon in North America.
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