State Rep. Cam Cavitt released the following statement after Congressman Jack Bergman introduced the Michigan Sturgeon Protected and Exempt from Absurd Regulations Act or Michigan SPEAR Act. The plan would prevent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) from listing Michigan lake sturgeon as an endangered species.

“It is impossible to understate the broad cultural significance of lake sturgeon fishing in Northern Michigan,” said Cavitt, R-Cheboygan. “The SPEAR act would guarantee the feds cannot supersede the authority of our local fish and wildlife experts to please environmentalist radicals who want to see lake sturgeon fishing banned nationally.”

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has been actively working to preserve sturgeon populations for over 20 years. Since 2003, 33,416 juvenile lake sturgeon have been stocked into the Cheboygan River drainage via the Black Lake sturgeon facility.

Blake Lake in Cheboygan County is one of two places in the U.S. where spearfishing lake sturgeon is permitted. The only other is in Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin. The Blake Lake sturgeon season is already heavily regulated by the DNR. The DNR determine the total number of sturgeons that may be harvested each year. Once the limit is met, all sturgeon fishing stops. While the 2024 season was cancelled due to safety concerns stemming from lack of ice on the lake, the 2023 season lasted only 65 minutes, and the 2022 season only lasted 36 minutes.

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