Biologists reeled in a 240-pound fish from the Detroit River that probably hatched a century ago Paulina Firozi A member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey crew lays beside a 240-pound lake sturgeon pulled from the Detroit River. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Jason Fischer was shocked at what his crew had just caught. Fischer, a biologist who works with a Michigan-based Fish and Wildlife Service office, was on the water late last month, putting out setlines with hooks to catch and survey the lake sturgeon population in the Detroit River. It was his first setline survey with this three-person crew, and until then his research had focused on egg and larval stages “we’re talking about a fish less than an inch.”
A Huge, Ancient Lake Sturgeon Has Been Lurking In The Detroit River By Annamarie Sysling | WDET-FM
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Jennifer Johnson, a member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey crew, lies down beside a massive lake sturgeon that was pulled from the Detroit River last week. The sturgeon was tagged with a microchip and released back into the river.
Jason Fischer / USFWS
Last Thursday started out like any other day on the Detroit River for three scientists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in Alpena, Mich. They were setting up fishing lines as part of their annual survey of the lake sturgeon population. Before arriving to check on the fourth line, scientist Paige Wigren says, the biggest thing hauled in was a 5-gallon plastic bucket.
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Jason Fischer was shocked at what his crew had just caught Fischer, a biologist who works with a Michigan-based Fish and Wildlife Service office, was on the water late last month, putting out setlines with hooks to catch and survey the lake sturgeon population in the Detroit River. It was his first setline survey with this three-person crew, and until then, his research had focused on egg and larval stages we re talking about a fish less than an inch. It was his teammates, fellow biologists Jenny Johnson and Paige Wigren, who took a look at the latest catch and said: Oh man, that s going to be a very big fish.