Since 2006, thousands of tagged juvenile sturgeon have been released into the Nechako River through the fish culture program, which is one of the recovery initiatives for the endangered Nechako white sturgeon. And during all this time, YOU have been helping us release these young sturgeon into the river and helping in the recovery of this population.
Researchers conduct indexing surveys at various times of the year. Sometimes tagged fish are located within a couple of months of their release, or they may be recaptured years later. Remember, these fish are not always so easy to find - your sturgeon is at the very beginning of a long life and the Nechako watershed is a big place! But if you are patient, you may one day find information on the fish that you helped release into the river.
Did you know that White Sturgeon are the largest freshwater fish in North America and can weigh over 500 kilograms, be over 5 meters in length (the largest recorded was over 6 meters long), and live for over 100 years? White Sturgeon in the Nechako watershed tend to be smaller, but can still live just as long!
The largest white sturgeon caught in the Nechako watershed by researchers include:
When a fish is recaptured, the date and location of the capture is recorded along with measurements of weight and length. If the fish was released during a Juvenile Release Event, their information is added to this database and you will be able to see how much they grew or moved. Sometimes we also find out if a fish has been killed through predation.
To see your fish and if it has been recaptured,
search by
First Name (human), Fish Name, School/Organization, or PIT Tag number.
You can also quickly see which fish have been recaptured over the years by selecting the drop-down menus.