Little fish - Big splash
Shared efforts put juvenile white sturgeon in Columbia
April 29, 2011

3,000 juvenile sturgeon reached their new home in the Columbia River on Thursday. With the help of over 60 people forming a human-chain, the precious cargo was passed down the line until the fish reached the Priest Rapids reservoir.

The event was the culmination of years of work by Grant PUD natural resource employees, members of the Wanapum Band, the Yakama Nation and many partnering agencies.

The release is part of Grant PUD’s White Sturgeon Recovery Conservation Program and a component of the utility’s federal license. The sturgeon are offspring of adult natural broodstock collected from waters near traditional Wanapum fishing grounds. Their release is expected to improve the longevity of the species, allow for increased tribal and recreational fishieries and improve the health of the river ecosystem for future generations.

Rex Buck, Jr. and other Wanapum members blessed the 10-month-old sturgeon at the event and spoke of their importance to Wanapum culture. Other speakers at the event included Paul Ward and Donella Miller, representing the Yakama Nation, Grant PUD Assistant Manager Chuck Berrie and Senior Biologist Mike Clement.

The Wanapum Band and Grant PUD staff, along with other tribal and agency partners, such as the Yakama Nation, believes these juvenile white sturgeon and others planted in the Wanapum and Priest Rapids reservoirs this week will one day become a self-sustaining population.

This week, over 9,000 white sturgeon were released into Priest Rapids Project waters. All were pit-tagged prior to release. One percent also received acoustic tags for tracking purposes.

Grant PUD and partnering agencies will continue work to implement the White Sturgeon Recovery Conservation Program in the years ahead. The sturgeon released yesterday were the first of many to be released by the utility.

White Sturgeon Release Slideshow