Ohio expands Lake Erie sturgeon work to the Scioto as tagged fish show up

Ohio's lake sturgeon reintroduction is spreading to another historic river. In a Nov. 5, 2026, Ohio Newsroom feature, ODNR Division of Wildlife fisheries biologist supervisor Eric Weimer said crews added the Scioto River this year after starting Maumee River plants in 2018 and expanding to the Cuyahoga and Sandusky rivers last year.

Weimer said incidental catches of lake sturgeon in Lake Erie climbed within about a year of the Maumee work, and PIT tags are tying many of those fish back to the stocking program run with partners including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Toledo Zoo. Sturgeon can grow past 6 feet and more than 100 pounds, and recent research suggests some females may live around 400 years.

The long clock is the hard part. Females take roughly 25 years to mature, so Weimer framed each site as a 25-year commitment before managers know whether fish will spawn on their own. The goal is a self-sustaining population, not endless stocking. Anglers who hook a sturgeon should handle it carefully and report tagged fish so the recovery data keep growing.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: The Ohio Newsroom / Statehouse News Bureau — From 6 inches to 6 feet: How scientists are reintroducing a giant fish to Lake Erie (Erin Gottsacker, Nov. 5, 2026).

Photo: Josh Zielinski / courtesy Eric Weimer, Ohio Division of Wildlife.