Manitoba

• Manitoba allows catch and release fishing for lake sturgeon on the Red River. Fishing is prohibited from April 1 through May 8. Anglers must use barbless hooks.
  
  

North Dakota

• The North Dakota Game and Fish Department prohibits anglers from possessing lake sturgeon on the Red River or any other state waterway. Lake sturgeon caught incidentally must be returned to the water unharmed
  
  

Minnesota

• The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources also prohibits anglers from catching and keeping lake sturgeon on the Red River and its tributaries, like the Otter Tail River. The agency asks fisherman to contact the agency with information about when and where they catch lake sturgeon.
  
  

History

• Lake sturgeon were common in the Red River basin through the late 1800s, but were largely wiped out by over harvest, declining water quality and dams on the Red River and its tributaries.
  
  

Recovery Efforts

• Minnesota, Manitoba and the White Earth Band of the Ojibwe stock lake sturgeon fingerlings in Red River basin. Additionally, the government of Manitoba, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been removing dams from the main stem of the Red River and some of its tributaries. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources notes dams pose the biggest obstacle to re-establishing lake sturgeon populations.