Big Fish Stories: Analysis of Historical Newspaper Data on Size of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the Lake Michigan Basin

摘要

Old newspapers (1850-1915) in the Lake Michigan basin were surveyed for reports of large lake sturgeon (≥ 100 pounds =45.4 kg). Records of large fish were obtained from throughout the basin. To assess the accuracy of reported measurements, reported weights associated with reported lengths were compared to weights predicted by a weighulength regression developed for a large sample of fish from Lake Winnebago. Although there were a few obvious or likely outliers in the historical Lake Michigan data set, reported and predicted weights were not significantly different. Moreover, although the mean magnitude of deviations between reported and predicted weights, expressed as a proportion of predicted weight, was substantial, it was comparable to natural variability among lake sturgeon due to the effects of differences between sexes, locations, times of year, and reproductive status.