Other historically important species in Saginaw Bay include lake sturgeon and cisco (lake herring). Until the middle of the 20th century, Saginaw Bay supported an enormous cisco commercial fishery. They declined throughout much of the lake and have not recovered in Saginaw Bay. A cisco fingerling stocking program aimed at restoring a breeding population in the bay was initiated in 2017, a joint exercise by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and other partner agencies of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Lake sturgeon, which mainly spawn in rivers, are also the subject of a restocking effort led by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, with plantings taking place in the Saginaw River system.