On Saturday the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians held their first annual Sturgeon Release Ceremony to return Nmé (Lake Sturgeon) into the Boardman-Ottaway River. The event included a ceremony, prayers, food, drinks, and a community release of hundreds of juvenile Nmé. The photo shows Percy Bird releasing a young sturgeon into the Boardman-Ottaway.
Michigan Sea Grant shares that lake sturgeon live longer than any other fish species in Michigan with males living an average of 55 years and females 80-150 years. Despite their long lives, sturgeon are very slow to mature. It takes about 15 years for male lake sturgeon to reach reproductive maturity and 20-25 years for females. In early spring, adult sturgeon enter fast-flowing rivers to spawn. Female lake sturgeon spawn once every four years, each depositing million of eggs on gravel bars. It is estimated that only about 10-20 percent of adult lake sturgeon within a population spawn during a given year.
Thank you to the GTB Natural Resources Department & Grand Traverse Band members and all who were part of restoring balance to Michigan’s waters. Also thank you to my friend Holly T. Bird who shared this photo with me. She doesn’t have a photography website, but she is the co-executive director of the amazing organization Title Track that uses creative practice to build resilient social-ecological systems supporting clean water, racial equity, and youth empowerment.
Michigan in Pictures 