Friends of the St. Clair River is hosting the 6th annual Blue Water Sturgeon Festival on Saturday, June 1st from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse Station Park, 2800 Omar Street, Port Huron. This one-day event is centered on providing close encounters with Lake Sturgeon, Michigan’s Gentle Giant of the Great Lakes. Parking and admission are free.
The festival provides a live sturgeon touch tank, hands-on activities, workshops, adopt a sturgeon program and exclusive Huron Lady Sturgeon Cruises. Lake Sturgeon can grow to more than 6 feet long and weigh more than 100 pounds. St. Clair County has the largest Lake Sturgeon population in the Great Lakes, an estimated 30,000 adults in southern Lake Huron, the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair. Biologists are recording the abundance, distribution, and growth of Lake Sturgeon to better understand their life cycle and movements. The festival draws thousands to get up close and personal with these giants, ask questions to those who study them, and learn about stewardship of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem. Huron Lady Sturgeon Cruise tickets are available at www.huronlady.com for cruises at 10:00a.m, 11:30
a.m., and 1:00 p.m. Tickets are $25/ person. During the 1-hour guests watch Lake Sturgeon swimming in the St. Clair River via live video by Gregory A.D. scuba divers. Fifth-grade students in St. Clair County – 600 of them – will get a free Sturgeon Science Cruise May 30- 31 as part of the Sturgeon Festival. Students embark on the Huron Lady II where they interact with
biologists catching, tagging and releasing Lake Sturgeon and scientists studying invasive species, like sea lamprey. Friends of the St. Clair River hatched the Blue Water Sturgeon Festival in 2014 after a group of divers, environmentalists and scientists wanted to highlight the fascinating story of this ancient fish – a mascot for the Great Lakes and their recovery. Lake Sturgeon are threatened in 7 of the 8 Great Lakes states. Once on the brink of extinction, their populations are making a comeback and have become a spotlight species for the habitat restoration work completed in the St. Clair River. Funds raised from the Sturgeon Cruise support Friends of the St. Clair River’s conservation and stewardship programs. For more information, visit www.SturgeonFestival.com or contact Sheri Faust, President, Friends of the St. Clair River at (810) 730-5998 or info@scriver.org.
