Page 20 - 2018 MAY/JUNE Outdoor Oklahoma

normal from mid-May to late August, turning the river
into a very noisy environment for the project’s trackers. EriC BrENNAN/ODWC
“We were using an underwater microphone to track
the fish,” Johnston said. In addition to amplifying the
beeps from the sturgeon’s tracking devices, the micro-
phone would also amplify the sound of individual sand
particles hitting each other. “Recordings of those sand
particles sounded more like loud screaming. Even the
digital software was unable to pick out the transmitter’s
signals from the bouncing sand.”
While the spring spawning and migration events
weren’t documented as hoped, Johnston was able to
track a few of the sturgeon’s movements and found
“hotspots” or centers of activity.
“One fish stayed around the I-44 bridge for several
months before moving 16 miles downstream to another
hotspot in a mere 17 hours. Another fish almost made it
to the Webbers Falls area before turning back into the
Verdigris River” about 60 miles downstream. With the fish in hand, Johnston was able to determine that most of the
project’s sturgeon were female and many had eggs.
COLiN BErG/ODWC

These sturgeon were transferred to a 35,000-gallon tank at the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks after the project’s 25 fish were tagged. All fish survived
the procedure and were returned to the river.

18 OUTDOOR OKLAHOMA