Jason Arndt, jarndt@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Jason Arndt Dorsal fins from sturgeon protrude through the Wolf River at the Shawano dam Thursday.
Leader Photo by Jason Arndt From left, Don Osborne, of Oconto Falls, Linda Tyler and LaVera Tischauser, of Shawano, and othes watch the sturgeon swimming in the Wolf River near the Shawano dam Thursday.
Local residents could have small window of opportunity to watch the sturgeon spawning at the Shawano dam this year, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.
DNR sturgeon biologist Ryan Koenigs said spawning began Thursday in locations around New London and Shiocton, including Sturgeon Trail Park and Bamboo Bend.
The spawning should proceed quickly due to rising temperatures water temperatures in the Wolf River, Koenigs said.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the river’s temperature in New London jumped from 40 degrees April 10 to 55 degrees Thursday. The ideal temperature for spawning is about 54 degrees.
“Due to these conditions, I believe the fish will spawn very fast and we will have a short, intense run that may last less than a week,” Koenigs said.
Meteorologist Sean Luchs of the National Weather Service anticipates the warm weather to continue.
“In general, everything will remain sunny and there will be above normal temperatures through the weekend,” Luchs said.
At least a dozen sturgeon watchers, including 68-year-old LaVera Tischauser, were at the Shawano dam Thursday afternoon.
“I have been down here quite a few years,” Tischasuer said.”We always come down to watch the fish. … I like watching the children. They are fascinated by how big the fish are.”
Michael Skenadore brought his two children, Ella and Anna, after watching the Wolf River web cam online.
“My children enjoy it a lot,” he said.
The DNR on Thursday also deployed an additional two conservation wardens and seven volunteers of the Sturgeon Guard to monitor spawning sites in New London and Shiocton.
The Sturgeon Guard, created by the Department of Natural Resources in the 1970s and opened to the public in 1988, recruits volunteers to man popular sites to protect the sturgeon during the spawning season.
The DNR created the program to reduce the illegal harvesting of sturgeon, which includes poaching eggs for caviar, and increase awareness of the Wolf River ecosystem.
When the sturgeon are spawning along the rocky shoreline, they are fairly oblivious to nearby human activity and very susceptible to illegal harvest, according to the DNR.