Nature & Environment

Giant fish is among largest ever caught in US

By T.K. Randall
May 7, 2021

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Measuring a whopping 6 feet, 10 inches long and weighing in at 240 pounds, the monster fish is believed to be one of the largest lake sturgeon ever caught in the United States.

"Based on its girth and size, it is assumed to be a female and that she has been roaming our waters over 100 years," the Alpena Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office wrote on Facebook.

"So, she likely hatched in the Detroit River around 1920 when Detroit became the 4th largest city in America. She was quickly released back into the river after being processed!"

The fish was caught by biologists Paige Wigren, Jason Fischer and Jennifer Johnson."We knew it was big in the water, but when we saw it on the deck of the boat, we were all like, 'Yep, this is very large,'" said Wigren.

"The first thing that was going through our mind was, 'Don't get off, because no one's going to believe us,'" added Fischer.

Sturgeon, which have been around since the time of the dinosaurs and have lived in the Great Lakes for 10,000 years, are considered to be a threatened species in Michigan.

Based on this particular catch however, they seem to be doing quite well in the region.



Source: ABC 6 On Your Side

Tags: Fish, Detroit