Sturgeon numbers have been steadily declining around the Great Lakes
for years. In order to rehabilitate sturgeon populations, some states
are adopting new restrictions on harvesting the fish. In Wisconsin, the
sturgeon spearing season was shut down this year after just three days,
when the quota of fish had been caught. It was the state’s shortest
season on record. In Michigan, new restrictions will start next year.
But the new rules endanger something else: a way of life for
communities where the tradition of sturgeon spearing spans generations.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports: