River otters fatten up on bite-sized, at-risk sturgeon

A handful of hungry river otters have added juvenile sturgeon to their diet and it's directly impacting a Vanderhoof sturgeon recovery project.

"DowntownVanderhoof, we have the last three or four yearshad six or seven very healthy otters that seem to likeNechakowhite sturgeon as part of their dining habits," saidNechakoWhiteSturgeonRecovery Initiative chair Wayne Salewksi.

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Salewski saidthe initiative is trying to help the fish avoid being eaten by predators that like small fry by growing the fish larger before releasing them.

"Seagulls, ospreys, eagles,bull trout, just about everything likes the right-sized bite," he said.

But for river otters the right-sized bite seems to be about 500 grams, which is how big the Initiative inVanderhoofis growing them to in order to avoid other predators.

He said it raises questions about how his sturgeon conservation efforts contribute to healthy otter families.

"It's the circle of life. We've always been well aware of that," he said. "Sturgeon have had many challenges over the millions of years that they've been around and this is just one of them."

Radio antennasattract otters

Salewskisays the otters seem especially drawn to the fish being released with small GPS trackers attached to them.

He calls the trackers eye-candy for the otters.

"There's no question that otters seem to be able to pick those out of the herd just quicker and easier."

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The restoration team has to go out to find the devices after the otters have finished with their meal anddiscarded the trackers.

"We just track them right to the shore," said Salewski. "They're usually nicely under a log on the banks."

'Otter avoidance training' one possible solution

The sturgeon recovery team injects otter scent extracted from the animals' glandsmixed with fish skin into juvenile sturgeon tanks in hopes the instinct to flee at the smell of otters will be heightened in the fish.

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Other tanks are being injected with a placebo, so theteam can assess whether the "otter avoidance training"works. "We're testing the survival of those fish that have been taught otter avoidance," said Salewski.

They're also experimenting with the idea of releasing even larger sturgeon into the water, making them too big for the otters to catch.

Listen to the full interview with Salewski

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