Conserving Snake River sturgeon: Raising little ones (part 6 of 7)

Photo: Juvenile White Sturgeon growing in the hatchery soon after hatching. These fish are about 2" long and only hatched about a month ago! They will grow fast in the hatchery and can reach 16" within a year. 

If you missed Part 5, you can read it here. 

Raising sturgeon from wild parents for release into the Snake River is a cooperative effort. Eggs are hatched a few weeks after spawning at College of Southern Idaho (CSI). Sturgeon typically stay at the CSI hatchery for several months. Since CSI has limited space, many of the sturgeon are then transferred to Idaho Fish and Game’s Hagerman State Hatchery where they will feed and grow for about a year.

Photo: Juvenile Snake River White Sturgeon rearing at Hagerman State Hatchery spawned from wild parents. These fish will spend between 12-18 months in the hatchery until large enough to be transferred to the Snake River to help increase sturgeon numbers.

In the hatchery, sturgeon grow fast and will reach about 16-20” long. About 300 of these fish will be stocked across different reaches of the middle Snake River. These areas include the reaches below Swan Falls Dam, below CJ Strike Dam and in the Twin Falls area. Over time, these hatchery sturgeon spawned from wild parents will hopefully help to increase the numbers of adult sturgeon in the middle Snake River. 

A second group of sturgeon will remain at Hagerman State Hatchery about another 6 months until they reach 24” long. These fish will be used for non-conservation sport fishing populations outside the historical range of sturgeon. These new sturgeon populations around American Falls and Idaho Falls are proving new fishing opportunities in eastern Idaho. 

Fun fact: Most sturgeon in Idaho are now land-locked by dams. However, White Sturgeon also live in the ocean and large estuaries along the Pacific coast. They are capable of making huge migrations. Sturgeon tagged in the San Francisco Bay have been recovered in the Columbia River estuary, as well as hundreds of miles upstream in large rivers. 

Go to Part 7