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DNR Investigates Illegal Sturgeon Spearing In Northeastern Wisconsin

Sturgeon Are Vulnerable During Spring Spawning Season

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Sturgeon spawning
Sturgeon spawn along the Wolf River. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (CC-BY-ND)

The state Department of Natural Resources is asking the public for information on a sturgeon that was illegally speared this week.

The 56-inch adult male was left along Black Creek near Seymour. DNR warden supervisor Chris Shea said it was killed sometime late Sunday night or early Monday morning. It’s only legal to spear sturgeon during the winter.

Spawning season is in high gear along the Wolf River, and the large fish are vulnerable as they breed in shallow water near the shores. While high waters along the river and warm temperatures will make for a short spawning season this year, Shea said the conditions are also leading some fish to swim into areas where they don’t normally breed.

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“I think the odds are more likely that (the speared fish) came up there because of our higher water levels than we’ve had in the past number of years,” he said, explaining that sturgeon usually stick to river banks, not creeks.

The DNR works with volunteer sturgeon guards who keep vigil around the clock during spawning. “If we didn’t have that going on, I’m positive we’d have a significantly increased number of problems,” Shea said.

Each year he gets one or two reports of poached fish, Shea said, but it’s still a small number compared to the 1960s and 1970s when dozens were illegally taken.

Black Creek, where the dead fish was found, doesn’t have regularly scheduled guards.

“This is not a typical site that we would have guards at because we’re not seeing the large number of fish that we have in other spots,” Shea said. “So this is kind of an unusual spot to have this happen at.”

Authorities are investigating leads and ask the public to report anything suspicious.