BY ANTHONY RIZZO
The DNR has announced plans to conduct a population study of juvenile lake sturgeon in Cheboygan County's Black Lake.
The study is scheduled to start in mid-August. It'll consist of marking all netted sturgeon and determining the ratio of marked to unmarked fish.
Tim Cwalinski is with the DNR Fisheries Division.
He said the goals are to assess stocking efforts and to understand current population and size structure.
"We have a good idea of how many adult sturgeon are in there right now based upon years in and years out spawning runs during the spring up the Black River. We've counted a lot of fish, we've tagged a lot of adults, but those young fish don't go up the river to spawn, yet; they're not mature enough. Once we start getting an idea of the combination of those two estimates, we can start looking at what is the number per acre of adults that should be in Black Lake," Cwalinski said.
Cwalinski says the study information will allow the DNR to adjust future stocking levels and determine other population goals.
The study is expected to run for approximately three weeks.