The sturgeon each received a tiny stainless steel sliver of metal wire injected intramuscularly. The tag is approximately 1/16th of an inch long and cannot be seen on the fish once it is injected. However, with the use of a metal detecting wand, the fish can be identified as a hatchery fish. - FWS photo

During the summer of 2007, the crew of the Genoa National Fish Hatchery (NFH) and their friends group coded wire tagged 26,000 of its approximately 29,000 7.5” lake sturgeon for stocking into the White Earth and Red Lake Reservations of Minnesota, the central Mississippi River, and the lower Missouri River.

These fish each received a tiny stainless steel sliver of metal wire injected intramuscularly. The tag is approximately 1/16th of an inch long and cannot be seen on the fish once it is injected. However, with the use of a metal detecting wand, the fish can be identified as a hatchery fish. Each year, the sturgeon are tagged in a different location in order to differentiate year classes during sampling.

The Genoa NFH cooperates with the La Crosse National Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office and the La Crosse Fish Health Lab to annually provide sturgeon to the states of Missouri, and Minnesota as well as tribal governments in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Lake sturgeon were not the only fish to be marked this summer.

Four fin clippers from the Iron River NFH, came down to fin clip 10,000 Tobin Harbor strain coaster brook trout for stocking. By fin clipping the trout, biologists are able to distinguish easily between a hatchery fish and a wild fish during fish management operations on the Great Lakes.

The coaster brook trout is a strain of brook trout which is endemic to the Great Lakes. Habitat loss, over-fishing, pollution, and sea lampreys have all contributed to its diminishing number. The Genoa (NFH) cooperates with the Iron River National Fish Hatchery, the Ashland National Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office, and the states of Wisconsin and Michigan in order to restore the coaster brook trout to its native range on the northern shore of Lake Superior and the Isle Royale National Park.