Updated 2021-09-14 19:15:55
Lake Erie -> 3.0 Rehabilitation Species -> Sauger
Reporting Interval
2016 - 2020
Area
Lake Erie - West Basin
Meeting Target?
N/A
Indicator Trend
N/A
Confidence?
N/A
Other species of interest for rehabilitation
Sauger (Sander canadensis) supported sport and commercial fisheries in Lake Erie until the 1950’s, soon followed by extirpation. Previous attempts to restore sauger populations via stocking from 1974-1976 were unsuccessful, and no sauger have been documented in Lake Erie assessments since the mid-1980’s. Re-introduction of sauger to western Lake Erie is being evaluated by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). Efforts have focused on determining a genetically appropriate source of brood stock and examining critical habitat availability in candidate tributaries. A recent publication comparing genetics of historic and potential sauger donor populations determined that contemporary populations in the Ohio River are most like historic Lake Erie sauger (Hartman et al. 2019). Habitat assessments in the Maumee River (Collier 2018; Schmidt et al. 2020) and Sandusky River (Sasak in prep; Myers in prep) will be used to examine sauger habitat in these candidate tributaries.
Methodology
Other Resources
- Collier, J. 2018. Creating a Spatially-Explicit Habitat Suitability Index Model for Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the Maumee River, Ohio. (Ph. D. Dissertation), University of Toledo, Toledo, OH (2018).
- Hartman, T., J. Tyson, K. S. Page, and W. Stott. Evaluation of potential sources of sauger Sander canadensis for reintroduction into Lake Erie. 2019. Journal of Great Lakes Research 45(6):1299-1309.
- Schmidt, B., T. Tucker, J. Collier, C. Mayer, E. Roseman, W. Stott, and J. Pritt. 2020. Determining habitat limitations of Maumee River walleye production to western Lake Erie fish stocks: documenting a spawning ground barrier. Journal of Great Lakes Research 46(6):1661-1673.
Contributing Author(s)
- Eric Weimer - ODNR