Biologists capture, collect information, and release Lake Sturgeon
Are Lake sturgeon surviving in the Tennessee River after being re-introduced?
USFWS Southeast region hatchery staff joined staff from Warm Springs Fish Health Center, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Valley Authority to monitor a large-scale Lake Sturgeon Restoration effort (over 200 river miles). This effort now includes agencies and groups from multiple states: Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Alabama. In the 1960’s, Lake Sturgeon became extinct in the region. In the last 2 decades, USFWS/state hatcheries and public aquariums have released over 210,000 Lake Sturgeon into the Tennessee River and its tributaries.