State DEC Looks to Replenish Sauger Fish Population

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York conservation authorities are looking for public comment on a plan restore populations of a once common fish that's suffered a long decline.

The Department of Environmental Conservation says the fish is the sauger, a member of the true perch family that looks and acts much like a walleye.

They used to thrive in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain as well as places across the country where changes in water quality and flows have been blamed in part for their decline.

The DEC hopes to re-establish the sauger in suitable waters by 2030. The plan calls for establishing a sauger population in the upper Allegheny River watershed, documenting and improving the habitat in Lake Champlain, and determining if it can be restored in Lake Erie's eastern basin watershed.