Absent for more than half a century, lake sturgeon returned to North Carolina waters as more than 3,000 fish were released into the French Broad river near Hot Springs last week. 

“It’s not every day you’re able to help bring back such a magnificent creature,” remarked Steve Fraley, aquatic biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. “This is a proud day for North Carolina as part of our natural heritage is being restored.”

Growing to 200 pounds and 9 feet long, and living up to 150 years, lake sturgeon are impressive fish. 

They’re native to central North America with a historical range sweeping the deep south well into Canada, but in the 1900s lake sturgeon declined due to overfishing, habitat loss, dams and pollution. The last one recorded in North Carolina was taken from Hot Springs in 1946. The species is not on the federal endangered species list but is considered threatened or endangered in 19 of the 20 states in its range. 

The campaign to bring them back to the Southern Appalachians began when 3,500 were stocked in the upper Clinch River in 1992 and continued when annual stocking of rivers in East Tennessee began in 2000. 

The fish stocked at Hot Springs are tagged, allowing biologists to know the fish’s origin when it is caught or sampled. Anglers who catch a lake sturgeon will be asked to report the find to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.