By Cheryl Jahn

Annual Sturgeon release in Vanderhoof

Jun 3, 2022 | 4:14 PM

VANDERHOOF – The shores of the Nechako River in Vanderhoof were full of school children today as part of the annual Nechako White Sturgeon release. A program that is overseen by Freshwaters Fisheries BC.

“This is big deal for our organization, it’s a big deal for the Nechako River and a key part of the recovery of the sturgeon population,” explains Andrew Wilson, CEO of Freshwater Fisheries BC.

And adding children to the effort is key to the future of the species.

“It’s such a big part of the community. It’s a fantastic thing to see the kids come from all different parts of the catchment,” says Wilson. “These are the future stewards of the resources so to introduce them now, have them see a sturgeon, name a sturgeon, this will stay with them for years.”

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Since the first sturgeon release more than a decade ago, the program has grown exponentially, from humble beginnings with school children from Vanderhoof, to hundreds of school kids from all across the region.

And there’s a newcomer to the event. Spruce City Wildlife is on hand this year, adding salmon fry to the release event.

“The previous coordinator for the sturgeon release reached out to us and we’ve been doing salmon releases and running the hatchery in Prince George,” explains Duston Snyder with the Spruce City Wildlife Federation. “He just thought it was a good idea to not only partner up but to expand on that education component salmon and sturgeon and how they benefit from each other’s presence.”

The recovery efforts were launched all those years ago when there were concerns about the fate of the Nechako White Sturgeon and its addition to the federal Endangered Species list.

“So this is a stopgap measure to try to conserve the population while work on habitat is undertaken to get the spawning levels back so they’ll support a healthy, self-sustaining population. So this is a key component of the program.”

And these efforts have put a sizeable dent in getting the species off that list. And programs like this one are helping.