Saving the sturgeon

COHUTTA, Ga. -- Lee Friedlander and Norm Haley caught, counted and measured more than 1,500 lake sturgeon early Thursday morning.

The fishing was not in a lake, but in tanks of the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute's fishery in North Georgia.

Later in the morning and 120 miles north on the French Broad River east of Knoxville, the year-old sturgeon swam away into their first real river, released by Mr. Friedlander and Mr. Haley to restore the fish to the Tennessee River and its tributaries.

East Tennessee fifth graders watched with oohs and ahhs at the release site in the Seven Islands community -- an area where the French Broad River comes together with the Holston River to form the 652-mile-long Tennessee River.

For millennia until the 1960s, the three East Tennessee rivers were the nurseries of sturgeon -- a fish species so old it saw the rise and fall of dinosaurs. Now the fish is endangered.

"The sturgeon has been here for millions of years as part of the eco-system and only recently -- in geologic time -- have we seen it eliminated," Mr. Friedlander said.

"In the same way you wouldn't want to go into your car and remove a screw and not know what it does," he said, "the sturgeon are integral to the health of the (ecological) system."

With the fish released Thursday, more than 72,000 sturgeon have been reintroduced to the Tennessee Valley. The release also marks something of a halfway mark in a 25-year restoration commitment made by the Tennessee Aquarium and several other state and local agencies.

Since the restoration program began in 1998, fish from some of the earlier releases have traveled at least 550 miles -- almost to the area where the Tennessee empties into the Ohio River before the Ohio reaches the Mississippi.

The sturgeon program is funded through the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and its state wildlife grant program.

The Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute gets $18,000 a year and matches that, but Tennessee Aquarium spokesman Thom Benson said working partners include three to five other hatcheries.

Dr. George estimates about $500,000 has been spent to date to reintroduce sturgeon to the Tennessee watershed.

ATTENTION ANGLERS

Lake sturgeon are endangered in Tennessee, so it is illegal to keep them. But researchers value the information fisherman can collect if they catch one. They ask that fisherman be careful with the lake sturgeon and avoid holding it by the tail. And remember, they need to be in the water to breathe!

Report a sturgeon by calling the toll-free number for the TWRA regional office or the Fisheries Management Division at 615-781-6575.

Those who provide an estimated weight and length, depth of catch and a location will get a Lake Sturgeon Certificate of Appreciation.

With a photograph the fish, researchers may be able to identify its hatch year for even better data.

Source: Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute

Coming Sunday: Restoring a spring gives another fish a chance to survive.