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OSHKOSH, Wis. – The sturgeon spearing season on the Winnebago chain of lakes closed at 6 p.m., Sunday Feb. 13, after spearers reached a harvest cap established under a new permanent rule in just two days of spearing.
Spearers took 2,517 sturgeon in the two-day season, the shortest season on record, according to preliminary harvest data compiled by the Department of Natural Resources. Spearers reached 80 percent of the harvest cap set under the rule for both juvenile and adult females on the opening day of the season, triggering closure of the season at the end of the next day, explained Ron Bruch, DNR fisheries biologist at Oshkosh
The new rule is intended to provide greater protection to the system’s lake sturgeon population, one of the largest populations of this ancient fish in the world, Bruch said.
In addition to Lake Winnebago, spearing was also open this year on the system’s three Upriver Lakes: Butte des Morts, Winneconne and Poygan. The harvest caps -- set at 400 adult females, 400 juvenile females and 2,150 males -- applied to the entire system.
DNR staff conducted counts of spearing shanties and found 2,736 shanties on Lake Winnebago and 2,079 on the Upriver Lakes, Bruch said.
"Despite the high numbers of fish harvested on the Upriver Lakes, the impact of the harvest on the system’s adult female sturgeon stock will be minimal as most of the fish harvested there were males," said Bruch. "We did exceed our recommended harvest cap on juvenile females, though. While this has rarely happened in the past, it is a concern and we will sit down with our Citizens Sturgeon Advisory Committee to explore options for future Upriver Lakes seasons," Bruch added.
Spearers harvested a preliminary total of 1,878 sturgeon opening day, including 451 juvenile females, 320 adult females, 1,103 males, and 4 unknown sex. The harvest on the Upriver Lakes (Butte des Mort, Winneconne and Poygan) was over 60 percent males.
The 2000 season was the 69th consecutive season on Lake Winnebago since the first season was held in the winter of 1931-32, and the 17th season held on the Upriver Lakes since the first season was held there in 1952. Since 1971 sturgeon spearing has been allowed on the Upriver Lakes for two days every fifth year, which would have put a season in 2001. However, the two-day season was moved up one year to 2000 to allow biologists to collect harvest and population data critical to safe management of the fishery.
Only five citations were issued during the spearing season, according to Dennis Jones, DNR warden supervisor for the Oshkosh area. They included two citations for hook-and-line fishing through a sturgeon hole and one citation each for illegal transportation of a sturgeon, failure to immediately tag and validate a sturgeon and for using a license of another person.
The 1999 spearing season, held just on Lake Winnebago, closed after just three days when spearers reached the harvest cap set under an emergency rule. Spearers harvested a total of 1,484 sturgeon in 1999.
"Our primary concern is maintaining the harvest at or below allowable levels, which our harvest cap system is designed to do," added Bruch.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Bruch (920) 424-3059 or Dennis Jones (920) 424-3055
Uploaded: 2/16/2000
Uploaded: 2/16/2000