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Saturday, Nov 21, 2009 10:17:42 PM |
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      PADDLEFISH 
Chris O'Bara DNR Biogist "In Tennessee they're real common. People call them duckbill catfish. They are actually the most ancient fish we have as far as evolutionary goes." Division of Natural Resources biologist Chris O'Bara and his team are working hard to make sure this ancient fish is once again a plentiful fish in West Virginia waters. These guys are going into the Kanawha River just five months after being spawned here at the hatchery. Chris O'Bara DNR Biogist "Now we feel we have the techniques down to where we are producing good numbers of fish each year, 5,000 to 10,000 of this size fish every year." And every one of these paddle fish will be tagged so biologists will be able to keep track of them. Chris O'Bara DNR Biogist "Each tag is about the size of a piece of lead on a pencil. Each tag has a unique code so we can determine which hatchery these came from, what time of year we stocked and what progeny, what stock they came from." After about six months, these paddle fish will be taken out of this hatchery. They'll wind up in the relatively wild Kanawha River. These guys, once they reach maturity, they'll be four times theat size and weigh 150 times that much." "We hadn't had reports of paddle fish in the Kanawha River for 10-20 years. When we started doing surveys it was uncommon to find paddle fish. Now every time we go out we collect paddlefish." And if this project continues to progress, pretty soon fishermen will be able to collect paddle fish, too. Just like they did long ago. Chris O'Bara DNR Biogist "We're bringing a new species into the state. We've had a lot of public input. The first time they see one it's "what is that? They're just a neat fish." If restoration efforts continue to be successful, fishermen will eventually be able to legally catch paddle fish. For now, though, it's illegal to possess these unique fish. If you do catch one, look for any signs of tags, release it and call the DNR. |
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GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA'S WILDLIFE  
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