Updated 2026-08-25 14:41:16
Lake Erie-2021-2025 -> 3.0 Rehabilitation Species -> Sauger Rehabilitation
Reporting Interval
2021 - 2025
Area
Lake Erie - West Basin
Meeting Target?
N/A
Indicator Trend
N/A
Confidence?
N/A
Other species of interest for rehabilitation
Sauger (Sander canadensis) supported sport and commercial fisheries in Lake Erie until the 1950s, soon followed by extirpation. Previous attempts to restore Sauger populations via stocking from 1974-1983 were unsuccessful, and no Sauger have been documented in Lake Erie assessments since the 1980s. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) began Sauger reintroduction efforts with the objective of reestablishing a self-sustaining population in select tributaries in western Lake Erie (Weimer 2026). Efforts focused on determining a genetically appropriate source of brood stock (Hartman et al. 2019), examining critical habitat availability in candidate tributaries (Andersen 2025), and determining rearing methodologies. First-year hatchery production trials are scheduled for May 2026 with the intent to rear 130,000 fingerling sauger to be stocked equally in the Sandusky and Maumee rivers. The ODNR plans to refine methods to produce the target of 500,000 fingerling sauger by 2028, with a plan to stock annually for 10 years in both rivers to establish a self-sustaining population.
Methodology
Other Resources
- Anderson, E. 2025. Assessing habitat suitability in the Maumee and Sandusky Rivers for Sauger (Sander canadensis) Reintroduction. Master’s thesis. University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
- Hartman, T., J. Tyson, K. S. Page, and W. Stott. Evaluation of potential sources of sauger Sander canadensis for reintroduction into Lake Erie. 2019. Journal of Great Lakes Research 45(6):1299-1309.
- Weimer, E. J. 2026. Ohio Sauger Restoration Plan for the Lake Erie Watershed. Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, Lake Erie Fisheries Research Units, Fairport Harbor and Sandusky. 20 pp.
Contributing Author(s)
- Eric Weimer - ODNR