Can lake sturgeon make a comeback in Missouri? Lake of the Ozarks could be a test

Scientists say lake sturgeon — a prehistoric fish listed as an endangered species in Missouri — have been consistently spawning in the lower Mississippi River near West Alton in recent years.

Since 1984, the Missouri Department of Conservation has made efforts to reintroduce sturgeon along the lower Mississippi. The fish, which can grow up to eight feet in length and weigh hundreds of pounds, are Missouri's longest-lived animal. They flourished in much of the state before dying off in the early 1900s because of an overabundance of fishing and a loss of habitat. The introduction of dams hindered the population, as well.

The strong-swimming fish with a sharklike body has long been caught or spotted throughout Missouri, including the southwest part of the state, though more consistently in some places than others.

Lake sturgeon have been seen further than 100 miles from away from their Mississippi River or Missouri River spawning grounds. Some have made their way up the Gasconade River and have been caught near Rolla.

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"If there's a stream, a (sturgeon) can show up in those streams," said MDC biologist Travis Moore, who noted shovelnose sturgeon are among the common types in Missouri.

Many anglers have gone catfishing and paddlefishing before reeling in an unexpected sturgeon. Buckhorn resident Chandler Lee Tudor was at the Riddle Bridge Access when he hooked and snagged a 4-foot lake sturgeon earlier this year with worms as bait.

The lake sturgeon, which can live up to 150 years and spawn every three to five years, isn't an adult until it's about 20, according to scientists.

Lake of the Ozarks has had six confirmed sturgeon catches since 2016. Troy Staggs, a Grain Valley resident, reeled in a 30-year-old lake sturgeon last summer, his second catch of the fish in four years. Sturgeon are required to be released if caught.

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Moore said the MDC is monitoring Lake of the Ozarks to see how a sturgeon population can do on its own.

"We're looking at places where we might stock them and they could do well," Moore said. "Among our management goals is to see them in other lakes, but we first need to make sure they have the right food source and not cause problems for existing fish populations."

Missouri's neighboring states Iowa, Illinois, Tennessee and Kentucky also have sturgeon on their endangered species lists, as well as Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Vermont.