The campaign is good news to people like Trevor Pitcher, an associate professor of biology at the University of Windsor who has studied the successful return of sturgeon in the Detroit River.

The fish nearly disappeared about 10 years ago when decades of dredging ruined natural spawning beds.

"Sturgeon existed in fairly reasonable numbers, but no offspring were produced for the next generation because they had nowhere to spawn," Pitcher told CBC's Windsor Morning.

But, artificial reefs were dropped into the river, which created new spawning waterbeds. The fish are now thriving.

"With the right habitat, they can do quite well," Pitcher said.