Pennsylvania Paddlefish

Dr. David Argent, Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from California University of Pennsylvania, holding a 38-pound paddlefish netted on the Allegheny River

Dr. David Argent, Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from California University of Pennsylvania, holding a 38-pound paddlefish netted on the Allegheny River

 

For many decades, Paddlefish were extirpated from flowing waters of the upper Ohio River basin in western Pennsylvania, which comprised the eastern-most extent of their native range.  The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission started a reintroduction program supported by a stocking regimen beginning in 1991 and was carried out through 2011. The paddlefish pictured above is most likely a fish stocked upstream of Kinzua Dam by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.  Throughout the duration of our reintroduction program, fisheries scientists from CalU have served as Primary Investigators to evaluate the success of the stocking efforts.  For more information on the reintroduction programs see this biologist report.

 

Photo Courtesy of Bob Ventorini, PA Fish and Boat Commission