The long-term goal of the NWSRI is to return the Nechako white sturgeon to a self-sustaining population.
In the short term (5 years), the Initiative’s goal is to develop a conservation fish culture program; in other words, a sturgeon breeding program that will rebuild and maintain the population until the cause of the decline can be determined and corrected.
The NWSRI believes that a conservation fish culture facility could replace, for the present, the juveniles necessary to preserve the next generation of Nechako white sturgeon while the factors for the decline of the natural white sturgeon are addressed. The Initiative is working with sturgeon experts to develop a risk management plan to make sure that the conservation aquaculture program has appropriate controls to contain disease, and that the breeding plan is designed to preserve the unique genetic composition of the Nechako white sturgeon.