SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (KTIV) - It had been over a century since a Paddlefish was spotted on the Iowa Great Lakes, that is until the Iowa Department of Natural Resources reintroduced the species last summer.

The highly migratory species were once able to navigate through the major river systems all the way to the Iowa Great Lakes.

“Back in the day they were able to freely swim up here, where now with a lot of dams in place, the electric fish barrier we have in the lower end of the Iowa Great Lakes. It kind of hinders their movement,” explained Jed Siegwarth, Iowa DNR Fisheries Management.

A year ago, the Iowa DNR reintroduced 2,000 paddlefish into the ecosystem, and the outcome has been everything they hoped for.

“Out of the 2,000 fish we stocked last year, 25 of those had an acoustic tag s

See Full Page