A Prehistoric Comeback

Spawning Interest

What has been spawning public interest in Lake Sturgeon in recent years is their spawning in the wild. After 30 years of rearing and stocking lake sturgeon in our rivers, the fish were observed naturally reproducing. With maturity taking decades, this discovery fit into the timeline. Fisheries Biologist Travis Moore likes the citizen science connection. He noted that people out fishing and recreating on the river had witnessed something cool and new. They let MDC know and spawning was confirmed on the Mississippi and Osage rivers. Moore was in high school when MDC first started stocking lake sturgeon, and after a 30 plus year career working with them is seeing the fruition of a lot of hard work. This work to restore a species to its natural place in Missouri’s waters will help future biologists in their work.
Lake sturgeon spawn in shallow rocky waters in large rivers. Moore describes what spawning looks like and what to do if you witness this phenomenon. “You may see them cruising the surface, you may see them porpoising, but the thing that really stands out is you will see these large fish thrashing around on the rocks and that’s the actual spawning that’s going on. So, if you see that activity, please call an MDC employee so we can get some folks out there.”

An Historic Event

“This is an historic event for us because this is the first time that we’ve spawned lake sturgeon in our hatchery system for releasing fish into the wild. In the past we’ve gotten eggs from Wisconsin and the fish and wildlife service has helped us raise them, but this is the first time that we’ve done this by ourselves”. In the spring of 2025, on a day when tornadoes were also spawning nearby, Moore and the team at MDC’s Blind Pony Hatchery were collecting eggs from females to mix with milt from mature, native Lake Sturgeon.
If you noticed the turkey feather being used in the mixing process, that’s part tradition and part functionality. The turkey feather has been employed for decades and its softness helps protect the eggs from damage. As the eggs hatch out, they will be transferred to Lost Valley Hatchery where they will grow before being released back into Missouri’s rivers.

Goals

For Travis Moore, it was a career highlight, and he feels lucky to be working at a point in time where natural spawning is occurring. It’s important to him to think forward in his work for the next generation of scientists. It's also important to acknowledge all the teams working with Lake Sturgeon restoration in Missouri including the University of Missouri Co-Op Unit, Blind Pony Hatchery Staff, Hunnewell Hatchery Staff, and Fisheries Staff from Northeast, St. Louis, and Central Regions.

A goal of all this work, besides letting fish be fish in their natural environment, is to recover the species enough to eventually have a recreational season for lake sturgeon. The work is challenging and fun and sometimes surprising. One fish that was tagged early on has travelled thousands of miles between St. Louis and South Dakota and back again in time for spawning.

Special Thanks to Brian Welch and Travis Moore for the Go Pro videos and photographs on the Osage and Mississippi rivers, and to Kevin Muenks for the Blind Pony Hatchery video.