Get the Potato Pancakes Ready

Photo Courtesy TNSturgeon.org

We just found a whole new "brownline" opportunity for our Tennessee Editor, Jay Moore, Cumberland River Lake Sturgeon.

Watchable Wildlife
Tuesday April 14, 2009

Lake sturgeon scheduled for release into cumberland river near downtown Nashville
NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will have its second release of lake sturgeon in the Cumberland River which will be held Friday, April 17 at Shelby Park near downtown Nashville. The event is open to the public and is set to begin at 11 a.m. at the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center with a welcome, introductions, a brief history of lake sturgeon and comments from members of the organizations that are helping with the project. At 11:30, those in attendance will move to the Shelby Park Boat Ramp and the release will begin at 11:35 and is expected to take about 25 minutes to complete. The second major release follows the inaugural release of almost 1,100 lake sturgeon that were reintroduced to the Cumberland River in 2006 as part of a plan to duplicate the successful reintroduction of lake sturgeon into the upper Tennessee River near Knoxville.

Just be careful if you hook one. They are considered endangered and have some special guidelines:

Lake sturgeon are endangered in Tennessee and must be released. If you catch a lake sturgeon:
- Be as careful as possible not to harm the fish.
- Avoid holding lake sturgeon by their tails
- Remember that fish cannot breathe while they are out of the water.
- After release, please contact TWRA (your regional office or the Fish Management Division at 615-781-6575) to report your catch.

You will be asked to provide your name, address, and phone number and the following information about your catch:
-When and where you caught the lake sturgeon.
- The approximate length of the fish.
- What you were using for bait.

If you can take a picture without harming the fish, these are helpful also. In appreciation of your report, TWRA will issue a numbered Lake Sturgeon Certificate that features a color reproduction of a lake sturgeon drawn by renowned wildlife artist Joseph R. Tomelleri.
---TWRA---