To compensate for historical losses of habitat, NOAA and its partners recently constructed a reef across the middle channel of Michigan’s St. Clair River.
Even before the construction ended in June, NOAA researchers reported seeing lake sturgeon swimming around the reef. Eggs collected from the site have hatched viable sturgeon.
Valuable commercial and sport fish such as walleye, lake whitefish, and perch are also expected to use the reefs for spawning. The restoration has potential to benefit waters upstream and downstream of the construction.
According to NOAA, their ultimate goal is to help remove the St. Clair River from the list of environmentally degraded areas within the Great Lakes basin called “Areas of Concern.”
source: NOAA FishNews