Wildlife officials announced the discovery of a sturgeon that traveled a record 651 miles along the Mississippi River system.
A lake sturgeon with a Wisconsin tag was recently spotted at Lock 26 Dam on the Mississippi River near Alton, Illinois, according to an April 22 Facebook post from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
“Our biologists have confirmed that this sturgeon was originally tagged on the Chippewa River and swam at least 651 miles from Jim Falls,” DNR officials said. “This impressive journey is the longest known distance a Chippewa River lake sturgeon has traveled! »
Officials said the sturgeon was initially tagged at least 10 years ago and possibly as long ago as 25 years ago, but more specific information on the date and location was not available.
Lake sturgeon can live up to 100 years – with females reaching 150 years – and are known to travel great distances and migrate.300 miles or more in contiguous bodies of water,” according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
No federal protection for lake sturgeon
The species itself is approximately 100 million years old, appearing around the time of the extinction of the dinosaurs, according to Wisconsin officials.
Despite their longevity, overexploitation and habitat degradation have significantly reduced sturgeon populations worldwide, including in the Midwestern United States.
However, on Monday, April 22, federal wildlife officials announced that lake sturgeon do not need Endangered Species Act Protectionsciting the success of storage efforts.
The decision puts an end to the activity of the Center for Biological Diversity 2018 petition to list lake sturgeon as an endangered or threatened species.
Sturgeon spear seasons In Wisconsin and Michigan, the situation will continue accordingly.
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