Department of Natural Resources fisheries officials today announced the 2008 Black Lake sturgeon harvest season ended early on Feb. 10 with the quota of five fish having been harvested from the lake located in Cheboygan County.

The fishing season, which includes spearing or hook and line fishing, was scheduled to run from Feb. 7-15, or until the total allowable catch of five fish had been reached.

Two-hundred twenty-five anglers were scheduled to participate in the fishing event this year, said Tim Cwalinski, DNR fisheries biologist. But fewer anglers actually participated as a result of the quota being reached earlier in the week.

"These numbers also do not include the many friends and family members who made the trip to Black Lake to join in the experience" he said.

Harvested lake sturgeon this year ranged from 53 to 71 inches in length, with weights between 35 and 89 pounds.

"Water clarity was excellent this year compared to last year, when poor visibility in the water resulted in no fish being harvested," Cwalinski said.

According to Cwalinski, sturgeon were moving more during this year's season which eventually led to the quicker harvest. Other fish caught or harvested during the period included walleye, muskellunge, yellow perch and northern pike.

The Black Lake sturgeon population appears to be slowly rebuilding. The DNR, Michigan State University and the advocacy group Sturgeon for Tomorrow have worked diligently over the past 10 years to improve the lake's sturgeon numbers and know it will be decades more before the population is rebuilt to what it once was.

Fisheries management and research, that includes stocking fish, reducing legal harvest limits and eliminating poaching, as well as studying factors related to the life history of the sturgeon, are helping to achieve that goal.