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A Kansas City aquarium is working to revive the Missouri River's paddlefish population

SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium
A group of baby paddlefish being cared for at SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium were recently released into the Missouri River. A handful were held back to be fitted with acoustic transmitters to track their movements.

Staff at SEA LIFE Aquarium in Kansas City are working with federal and state agencies to restock the American paddlefish, the last remaining species of its kind in the world, in the Missouri River watershed.

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.

SEA LIFE Kansas City - Paddlefish Released.mp4

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.

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