Dams have flooded many natural spawning sites and even where spawning sites persist, sudden fluctuations in water level caused by flood control and hydroelectric operations strand fertilized eggs or hatchlings.

Young paddlefish grow quickly, reaching up to 20 inches at age-1. After age-5, growth rate slows to about 2 inches per year. Maximum age is around 40 years.

FISHING

Commercial harvest has been severely limited throughout the United States but anglers have sought paddlefish for food and the thrill of battling a big fish. Since these filter feeders rarely take bait or lures, weighted snagging hooks are cast on heavy tackle and blindly jerked to stick fish. This method works when paddlefish migrate upstream in spring, congregating below dams.

Where paddlefish populations are stable, fishing may be legal, though the season and bag limit are restricted. In some regions, stocking has buoyed paddlefish numbers. On Missouri's Osage River, the paddlefish population was doomed by construction of Truman Dam, which blocked their migration from Lake of the Ozarks. An innovative hatchery program has maintained a strong fishery, with the state record set at 130 pounds. Kansas and Arkansas also have obtained fingerlings from this hatchery to strengthen populations in their rivers. And artificial spawning has been successful at the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery in North Dakota.

CONSERVATION

Because of the grave problem of poachers slaughtering paddlefish for their roe, the sale or barter of paddlefish or their eggs is illegal. The value of the roe has spurred the development of commercial aquaculture of paddlefish.

Where natural spawning areas for paddlefish remain, it's critical that channelization or damming be prohibited and that pollution be minimized. Harvest must be carefully monitored to ensure that populations aren't reduced to a point that spawning is limited. Where populations are sustained by stocking, harvest must be limited so these ancient fish can maintain the place in our rivers they've held for millions of years.