More Sturgeon Headed to Snake River

This week, Fishery managers from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game working with the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls and Idaho Power will be stocking sturgeon in the Snake River to augment angling opportunities below C.J. Strike Dam and Swan Falls Dam. The 10 to 20 inch sturgeon are offspring spawned and raised at the College of Southern Idaho as part of their aquaculture teaching program. Wild adult sturgeon are collected by Idaho Power Company from the Snake River in areas where there is poor spawning success. Eggs are collected via a caesarean method and spawned adult sturgeon are then returned to the Snake River. The program has enhanced sturgeon fisheries from below Swan Falls Dam all the way up the Snake River to Idaho Falls. One hundred 1-year old sturgeon will be released below C.J. Strike Dam, and three hundred will be released below Swan Falls Dam. In both reaches, the white sturgeon population has dropped, mostly due to poor water quality, infrequent high spring flows, disrupted temperature regimes and lack of access to quality spawning areas. By planting sturgeon raised at CSI, Fish and Game hopes to maintain a strong enough population to allow anglers to continue participating in the catch-and-release fishery. For more information on fishing for white sturgeon in Idaho check out this link on the Fish and Game website: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/fish/sturgeonFishingTips.pdf