100-year-old sturgeon one of the largest ever caught in the US, Michigan officials say
A massive sturgeon caught last week has likely been swimming in a Michigan river since before the Great Depression.
The fish caught in the Detroit River is also one of the largest lake sturgeons ever recorded in the United States, according to the Alpena Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office. Dubbed a “river monster,” it weighed 240 pounds and measured 6 feet, 10 inches long.
Officials say that based on the sturgeon’s size, it has likely been in the river for more than 100 years. If the fish was born in 1921, it shared a birth year with Prince Phillip, astronaut and senator John Glenn and former First Lady Nancy Reagan.
The sturgeon was quickly released back into the river after it was measured, officials say. A photo posted by the conservation office shows one of its staff members laying beside the massive fish.
A once in a lifetime catch for our Detroit River native species crew last week! This real life river monster was tipping...
Posted by Alpena Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office on Friday, April 30, 2021
Female sturgeons like the one caught in Detroit have been recorded to live 150 years, according to the National Wildlife Federation. Once abundant in the Great Lakes, they were declared a threatened species in Michigan in 1994.
Sturgeons are referred to as the “Giant of the Great Lakes” but despite their size, they are docile in nature, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said.
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