Lake Sturgeon can live to 150, and only 15 other fish in this species have been reported to Kansas wildlife officials in the past 25 years.
Before the 19th century, lake sturgeon were abundant throughout the Great Lakes. However, overfishing in the 1800s and 1900s dramatically reduced their populations. Today, the species is dwindling in its northern territories, and it is considered endangered in the southern parts of its range.
Efforts to reintroduce this freshwater fish have been slow because of their long life cycle. Females usually do not start producing eggs until they are at least 20 years old. Zirjacks detailed how he used special equipment to avoid injuring the endangered fish."The green thing is an unhooking cradle," he said, referring to the green tarpaulin seen in his photograph."It's a great tool when catch and release fishing. Gives you a padded place to put your fish after landing them.
"It's raised off the ground to keep them nice and clean.... Makes handling the fish way easier and lets you get them back in the water quicker. Really comes in handy when handling bigger fish," he said. While efforts continue to attempt to revive this population, the lake sturgeon is facing other environmental threats. Water pollution and invasive aquatic species have made their habitats less hospitable, and climate change is expected to decrease the quality and quantity of nursery and spawning sites and exacerbate existing problems.
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