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63 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, September 12, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 13, 2004 Somebody steals 6-foot sturgeon from hatchery By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Some scum-sucking bottom-dweller with legs made off with a scum-sucking bottom-dweller with fins from Cole Rivers Hatchery, which has reported a theft of a 6-foot sturgeon from a hatchery pond. "Somebody ripped off one of our sturgeon," hatchery manager Randy Robart says. "It makes me more mad than anything." The 80-pound fish, which is about 7 years old, was one of three white sturgeon living at the Trail-area hatchery since 2001 after it was retired from an Oregon State University research project. The sturgeon are fan favorites for hatchery visitors, most of whom otherwise never encounter these prehistoric fish that swim along muddy river bottoms sucking shrimp and other delicacies from the muck. They are long, slow-growing fish that have cartilage instead of bones, and can span more than 10 feet after living about 100 years. Sturgeon are prized by sport and commercial fishermen for their white, flaky flesh. Advertisement The pilfered fish was one of three swimming in a 25-foot circular concrete open-air pond that is about 2½ -feet deep and accessible to tourists who can pitch handfuls of sturgeon food for 25 cents. The sturgeon typically laid along the pond’s side. "They’re slow-moving fish and pretty tame," Robart says. "It wouldn’t be tough to jump in and grab one with your hands. "You just have to be a criminal to do it." The fish burglar apparently entered the hatchery grounds at night sometime last week, says David Pease, the hatchery’s assistant manager. The theft was discovered Aug. 5 when Pease went to give them their bi-weekly dose of salmon roe. "I just thought that was a pretty rotten thing to do," Pease says. Another sturgeon about 6 feet long appeared to have some scuff marks on its body, as if someone tried to handle it as well, Robart says. Sturgeon are hard to come by. One of the two remaining Cole Rivers sturgeon, a 4-footer, regularly goes on the sport-show circuit in an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fish tank. The sturgeon were bred and reared in captivity as part of an OSU study into growth rates of sturgeon in hatchery environments, Pease says. Hatchery workers lobbied OSU for six months to get the retired fish for show here. "We promised that we’d protect them and, well, there you go," Robart says. Hatchery workers have since stretched chicken wire over the pond, and Robart says he’s pondering whether to add video-surveillance equipment to the compound. The Oregon State Police are investigating the theft. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities