Illegal White Sturgeon Discovered Swimming In Wal-Mart Fish Tanks

The six-inch white sturgeon found swimming around the aquariums at Moscow’s Wal-Mart store illegally crossed the state line into Idaho.

University of Idaho fishery scientists stumbled across what they believe to be the protected white sturgeon Friday in the pet section. The two dozen fish were on sale for $5.97 each.

But in four or five years, those fingerlings could grow to longer than four feet and 80 pounds.

Idaho Fish and Game conservation officer Clint Rand said Wal-Mart imported the fish from FBC Wholesalers, a Midwest pet store distributor, and marked them as white sturgeon, unaware of the limits placed on the Idaho commerce of the species.

“I’m sure the feds are interested,” Rand said. “Transporting them into the state is a crime, but our worry really is, what are these people going to do when the fish get too big?

“The potential disruption of the gene pool in the Snake River could be disastrous.”

Keith Bonine, whose father owns Moscow’s Pets Are People Too, said many stores carry a Californian or European variety of sturgeon, and in fact, his store recently sold some.

“They don’t do real well, you have to keep the water real cold,” Bonine said Friday. “I don’t know why some people sell them, I suppose they’re kind of exotic. I suppose the ones at Wal-Mart could have been captive bred.”

The sturgeon would not always fit in a home aquarium. Some grow to 10 feet or more, living for decades.

At this point, Fish and Game says nobody is in trouble. They just want to round-up the remaining fish and determine their origin.

Fish and Game conservation officer Dave Cadwallader said the potential for disaster is great, especially if the sturgeon carry a pathogen of some sort.

“Worst-case scenario, we get one of these fish in the Snake River and it’s not healthy,” Cadwallader said. “The negative impacts are tremendous. We’ve had catch and release on sturgeon for over 20 years. It’s a tough enough go for the fish in the first place.”