Hatchery tanks help fight pallid sturgeon extinction

The Neosho National Fish Hatchery in Neosho has new tanks dedicated largely to preserving an endangered fish known as the pallid sturgeon.

Roderick May, Project Manager, says the tanks mimic the temperature and movement of river water to prevent shock in the fish which are brought from natural waterways.

May says the goal is to keep the pallid sturgeon from disappearing entirely.

“We’re trying to keep this fish from going extinct,” May states. “You know, the pallid sturgeon may be one of the most endangered fish in North America. It is very elusive.

“It is hard to get a good number on how many we have left out there. Reproduction is not occurring successfully in the river. That’s why we’re trying to reproduce these fish in the hatchery.”

The pallid sturgeon was commonly seen till the 1950s but has been on the endangered list since the 1990s.