Scientists from the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute and 30 students from Calvin Donaldson Elementary School will release juvenile Lake Sturgeon into the Tennessee River by Coolidge Park this Friday beginning at approximately 12:30 p.m.
"About 65 of these young sturgeon have spent months growing large enough and robust enough to safely return to their native waters," officials said. "This species has existed since the Cretaceous Period and has remained largely unchanged during that massive passage of time.
"By the 1970s, this river giant — which can reach lengths of nine feet — had all but disappeared from the Tennessee River due to a combination of poor water quality, damming of the waterway and over-fishing.
It is state-endangered in numerous states throughout its native range, including Tennessee.
"Since the formation of the Lake Sturgeon Working Group in 1998, the Tennessee Aquarium and its partners have released more than 250,000 Lake Sturgeon into the river. Many of these releases, like Friday’s, incorporate the community. The students who participate in the upcoming release may be survived by these massive fish, which can live for 150 years."
The Lake Sturgeon is listed as an endangered species in Tennessee.