Fish Population Has Disappearing Habitat

[Spiel]

Fish Population Has Disappearing Habitat

 

 

Aug 17, 2009 / northlandsnewscenter.com

 

 

In this week's Nature Matters David Hoole reports

on how the Northland is particularly valuable

to a species dealing with disappearing habitat. Watch The Video

 

 

 

The Sturgeon, Lake Superior's largest fish, just got some much-needed help from the state.

 

The Fond du Lac dam in the St Louis River is an important electrical resource for Minnesota Power and Duluth area residents.

 

Unfortunately it poses a major obstruction for fish swimming upstream to spawn.

 

"This project is redistributing flows more to the way they would have been naturally."

 

Cooperating with the Nature conservancy the Minnesota DNR has been working to improve habitat for the sturgeon by making their spawning grounds more suitable for the fish.

 

"The design for the riffles that we're building was based on natural rapids that we know sturgeon spawn in."

 

As the group put the finishing touches on the rocks and boulders to create the riffles, or rapids, they needed to see if their handiwork would perform under the higher water levels the river runs at in the springtime.

 

"We're lucky we've worked together cooperatively with Minnesota Power and they agreed to ramp up to 1615 cubic feet per second and that's a normal spring flow. So we raised it to a springtime level."

 

Sturgeon habitat is great but area anglers may be happy to know walleyes will benefit as well.

 

"The habitat that we're building is especially designed for Lake Sturgeon because they're especially picky about the habitat they need, they'll migrate hundreds of miles to find one specific habitat to spawn in but the habitat we're creating is going to be very ideal for fish like walleye and suckers and many other fish who spawn in riffles."

 

Early reports from aquatic residents suggest they like their new home.

 

"They're already checking things out. We've seen a number of fish jumping within the reach that we're working so hopefully they're jumping for joy because they have some good habitat to reproduce in."

 

Just upstream from Lake Superior, I'm David Hoole for Nature Matters.

 

The DNR has no open fishing season for Lake Superior's Sturgeon.

 

They are waiting for evidence the fish are reproducing before opening a season on them.