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Students release juvenile sturgeon into Nechako River

The release coincided with the 10-year anniversary of the Nechako White Sturgeon Conservation Centre

It was a day of hands-on education and celebration at Riverside Park in Vanderhoof Friday, June 7 as hundreds of students from the region, along with their teachers, volunteers and community members gathered for the annual juvenile sturgeon release.

The event, hosted by the Nechako White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative’s Community Working Group (CWG), coordinated the release with the 10-year anniversary of the Nechako White Sturgeon Conservation Centre.

About 800 elementary-age school children from School District 91, First Nation and private school, plus home-school students released a salmon fry, care of the Spruce City Wildlife Association, and as a collective, released 63, two-year old juvenile Nechako white sturgeon into the Nechako River.

There were also several educational booths at the event, such as representatives from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Conservation Officer Service, FireSmart and more to engage with the children.

The Nechako White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative’s Community Working Group (CWG) was created in 2001. The CWG is composed of individuals that represent First Nations, non-government environmental organizations, industry, local and regional governments, and affected public.

The group’s mission is to provide input from river stakeholders to the broader NWSRI, and to act first and foremost as a public advocate for Nechako white sturgeon and the recovery initiative. 

The CWG focuses on increasing the public’s awareness and knowledge about the recovery process, as well as the ecological problems facing the Nechako white sturgeon.  It is also concerned with building and maintaining community support for the recovery plan. To learn more about NWSRI please visit www.nechakowhitesturgeon.org

The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC was created in 2003 as a private, not-for-profit organization, dedicated to the enhancement and conservation of BC's freshwater fish resources for the benefit of the public. Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC staff operate the Nechako White Sturgeon Conservation Centre and hire students in the summer months to support research, aquaculture and conduct public tours.