8,000 young sturgeon released into Kootenai River Tuesday

On Tuesday 8,000  baby sturgeon were released into the Kootenai River. 

The Kootenai Tribe in Bonners Ferry is working with Freshwater Fisheries Society of British Columbia to save the population of white sturgeon in the Kootenai River.

Kootenay Trout Hatchery near Cranbrook , British Columbia, Canada, collected the fertilized sturgeon eggs from the tribe fish hatchery last May.  They were hatched, and raised and released at about 8 months old. 

Of the 8,000 sturgeon, 2,000 were released in Kootenai River at the Copeland bridge, 2,000 in Moyie, 2,000 in Troy and 2,000 in Bonners Ferry.

The sturgeon have inhabited the Kootenai River for hundreds of years. 

According to Ron Ek, manager of the Kootenay Sturgeon Conservation Hatchery in Canada, the sturgeon have not been able to spawn successfully over the past 30 years to sustain their numbers.  The conservationist believes this is due to habitat changes like dykes, construction, river straightening and the building of the Libby Dam, which changed the flow pattern of the lower Kootenai River.

“The changes in the sturgeons’ environment have made it difficult for yearlings to grow to a sufficient size to reproduce,” Ek said.

“The female sturgeon doesn’t successfully produce eggs until she is around 40 years old,” said Chad Ftritz of the Fisheries Society.

“Males reach spawning age around 25 to 30years of age,” said Ek.

Ek said that the current adult population of sturgeon is around 500 to 700 from Libby to Kootenay Lake. 

A full grown adult sturgeon can weigh up to 500 pounds in the Kootenai River.  They can measure 9 feet in length and live up to 100 years.

“We are doing this to prevent the extinction of the sturgeon until their habitat conditions are restored so they can do it on their own,” said Ek.