The Story Behind The Viral Sturgeon

DETROIT, Mich – An incredible discovery right here in Michigan went viral this past Earth Day.

This picture of a sturgeon caught in the Detroit River.

The fish was caught by the US Fish and Wildlife Service during the Annual Lake Sturgeon Assessment.

The fish was tagged and released back into its habitat.

“Finding a fish this old and this big is always exciting. It shows us they are in there and they are surviving a really long time. One thing our office is really interested in is reproduction of this species. We want to be seeing more young individuals coming into the population,” said Jason Fischer, a fish biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. “So it is always great seeing these old fish but in terms of population growth and persistence, it is really going to be these fish reproducing and these young fish coming into the population.”

The sturgeon was 6 foot 10 inches, weighed a little over 40 lbs and had a circumference of nearly 4 feet.