Fish put in local river could grow up to 8-feet

[WATCH: In the video player above a smallmouth bass caught in Lake Erie breaks record ]

(WJW) – Dozens of fish with transmitters implanted into them were released into the Cuyahoga River on Wednesday.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife said in a post on Facebook that the placement of 60 juvenile lake sturgeon into the river is part of a pilot project for a larger goal of reintroducing the endangered fish into the waterway.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources explains that the fish, which can grow up to 8 feet long and weigh over 300 pounds, were historically very abundant in some Ohio waterways like the Ohio River and Lake Erie, however, their numbers have declined likely because more dams now prevent them from reaching spawning grounds in much smaller streams.

Wildlife experts said the pilot project will help evaluate their movement and survival of the fish, which will help determine release locations next year.

“The decision to begin reintroduction represents the culmination of many efforts and is a monumental milestone in the recovery of the Cuyahoga River,” said the Ohio Division of Wildlife in their post on Facebook.

Officials say lake sturgeon can live to be 150 years.  The largest one on record in Ohio was from Lake Erie in 1929 and weighed 216 pounds.

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