The shivaree must go on: Black Lake Sturgeon Shivaree continues despite canceled season
CHEBOYGAN COUNTY — Six sturgeon will live to grow another year in Black Lake as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources canceled the 2024 lake sturgeon fishing season for the first time ever.
Officials determined that minimal and unsafe ice conditions would impede the department’s ability to safely and accurately enforce the harvest limit that protects the health and longevity of the highly regulated species.
But while the fishing season, which was set to begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3 was canceled, the traditions surrounding it continued.
More: The Black Lake Sturgeon Shivaree goes on without any fishing
The Black Lake Sturgeon Shivaree is an annual weekend of festivities that coincides with the sturgeon fishing season. This year’s schedule of events included live music, a poker run, youth activities hosted by Natureology, a live sturgeon and sea lamprey exhibit, raffles, winter yard games, and food and beverages. Sturgeon for Tomorrow, the event’s host, invests money raised from the weekend into lake sturgeon recovery, protection, hatchery, research, habitat conservation and outreach programs.
President Jay Woiderski remained optimistic despite the canceled fishing season, noting that the shivaree was still able to draw many locals even if there were fewer downstate visitors. Attendance in the tent was down compared to previous years, Woiderski said, but by midday Saturday the live music and exhibits had drawn a substantial crowd.
More: DNR cancels Black Lake sturgeon season
More: Black Lake Shivaree set to go on, ice fishing contest canceled due to unsafe ice
Shivaree participants had the opportunity to view a live sturgeon courtesy of Ann Douglas, a science teacher at Cheboygan Intermediate School, and the Sturgeon in the Classroom program. The students in Douglas’ classroom are responsible for feeding the sturgeon, maintaining the tank and testing water quality for the duration of the school year before releasing it into the wild.
Douglas, who also sits on the board of Sturgeon for Tomorrow, has implemented the program in her classroom since 2013 and uses the hands-on, place-based learning to also teach her students about the history of the fish, the ecosystems of the Great Lakes and endangered species.
While not an angler herself, Douglas was disappointed in the canceled fishing season but recognized the importance of being able to protect the number of sturgeon harvested. The historic poaching problem that caused the initial depletion of the sturgeon inspired Douglas’ interest in the species, and serves as a reminder of what could happen again if protective measures aren’t maintained.
“Because of Sturgeon for Tomorrow, there’s a newfound awareness,” Douglas said. “When someone finds a sturgeon washed up or sees one in somebody’s truck, they call us. It’s literally a guard.”
Douglas and Woiderski both expressed concern about the potential for lake sturgeon to be added to the Federal Endangered Species List in the coming year. While a slow process, the hatcheries have been successful in replenishing the species, in conjunction with protective measures already in place, Douglas said.
They said that to eliminate the fishing season entirely would potentially be detrimental to the culture surrounding it that brings the community together, raises money for sturgeon protection and offers opportunities for education.
Woiderski anticipates significant negotiation over the next year in relation to the potential endangered species classification and how the canceled 2024 season might impact next year’s quota. Sturgeon for Tomorrow would like to see a greater take quota in 2025, Woiderski said, but there are many other factors that will be considered before a decision is made.
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The lake sturgeon can weigh up to 200 pounds and live to be 100 years old. They are one of the oldest species in the Great Lakes.
The DNR and several entities, including Sturgeon for Tomorrow, tribal agencies, Michigan State University and others, have been working to rehabilitate lake sturgeon populations after they declined dramatically due to habitat loss and degradation and overfishing in the 1800s.
For example, the Sturgeon Guarding program asks for volunteers each spring to literally stand guard along the Black River as mature lake sturgeon head upstream to their spawning sites. The presence of the volunteers is intended to deter poachers.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Michigan prohibited the taking of lake sturgeon statewide in 1928 and began a limited sport fishery for lake sturgeon in 1948 on inland lakes open to spearing. Harvest limits and length requirements changed over the years, but concerns about an apparent decline in the species' population in Black Lake in the late 1990s led to more restrictive regulations.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Black Lake Sturgeon Shivaree continues despite canceled season
