A Home for Fish

Strawberry Island and its associated wetlands are one of the most significant aquatic ecosystems in the Great Lakes, protecting spawning grounds for a variety of freshwater fish species, including the muskellunge. The island's deep central lagoon, created by sand and gravel dredging operations during the first half of the 20th century, offers refuge for many fish species, and the surrounding overhanging trees and scattered vegetated shallows provide young fish with ample food and an ideal place to grow. The muskellunge, native only to Northeast North America, feeds and spawns in the shallows around Strawberry Island, returning to the same spawning ground year after year and often living close to where it was born when food is plentiful. Loss of habitat is the muskellunge's greatest challenge because it does not adapt well to changing environmental conditions and is easily affected by problems in local predator-prey relationships. Muskellunge can grow up to five feet long. Adults seek out shallow bays to spawn when the water temperature reaches around 55 degrees F 13 degrees C, with the male fertilizing the eggs as the female deposits them over several hundred yards of shoreline. The clear amber-colored eggs hatch in about two weeks without parental care, newly hatched fry first eat plankton and then small fish within a few days, and young muskellunge grow up to 10 inches by the end of the first year. The muskellunge grows most rapidly during the first three years of life, with males reaching maturity at four to five years when they are 28 to 31 inches long and females maturing in five to seven years at 30 to 46 inches.

Grand Island, New York · United States