Over the last year, dozens of baby American paddlefish have been cared for by staff at SEA LIFE Aquarium in Kansas City, Missouri, as part of an effort between local, state and federal agencies to revive the population.
The American paddlefish is the last species of paddlefish known in the world, after the Chinese paddlefish was declared extinct in 2022 due to habitat loss, overfishing, pollution and dams.
SEA LIFE curator Kayla Leyden said American paddlefish — Missouri's officially designated aquatic animal — are considered vulnerable.
"A lot of the interference that we've done with dams and channeling and things like that have taken away the paddlefish's natural reproductive sites," she told KCUR's Up To Date.
They are also a popular sport fish, and overharvesting by commercial anglers has led to a decline in their population.
While a majority of the paddlefish at SEA LIFE were recently released into the Missouri River, a handful were held back so they can be fitted with acoustic transmitters to track their movements.
For the next year or so, visitors at SEA LIFE will be able to come face-to-fin with the remaining baby fish.
"These are super charismatic species," said Leyden.
- Kayla Leyden, curator at SEA LIFE Aquarium Kansas City
