Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:

When you think of giant Missouri River fish, catfish or paddlefish may come to mind. You certainly would be  However, Missouri’s large rivers are home to Lake Sturgeon, a fish that can live over 100 years and grow to over 6 feet long.

Hatchery raised lake sturgeon are one piece of the recovery plan.
photo courtesy of Michael Moore.

Lake Sturgeon were nearly eliminated from Missouri 70 years ago due to overharvest and habitat degradation. Recovery efforts have led to growing populations which could provide future fishing opportunities for anglers. Learn how tracking their movements can help protect habitat and promote the recovery of this ancient giant.

Michael is a graduate student in the River Studies Lab in the University of Missouri Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Unit.

The title of his project is:  "Spatiotemporal Variation in Lake Sturgeon Movement and Habitat Selection in Missouri River Tributaries: Implications for the Management and Recovery of “Edge” Populations"

A map showing the counties in Missouri where Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) can be found.

Michael says - "I am focusing on tagging Lake Sturgeon in the Lower Osage and Gasconade Rivers. Currently we have about adult 80 fish tagged. We will be tracking their movements for 4 years through remote receivers and by actively finding them in a boat. When fish are located we measure the types of habitat the fish are using, focusing on potentially important variables such as current speed, bottom composition, cover, depth.  We will also be tagging and tracking stocked juveniles this coming fall.

Finally, we will be mapping habitats and focusing on movement rates in seasonal refuge areas. We hope to use this information to determine what types of habitats and flows are needed to maximize spawning, stocking efficiency, and survival. We will also be able to use movement information to determine whether separate stocks exist in different tributaries (Osage and Gasconade) so that MDC can manage their populations if a limited fishery is created in the future."