A Nechako white sturgeon recovery initiative has a research project in full swing that is placing gravel in the Nechako River in spawning areas near Vanderhoof.
The project intends to find out if clean gravel will help eggs develop and survive to the larvae and juvenile sturgeon stages.
"A positive result will allow the recovery team to develop options for long term restoration that could increase juvenile numbers substantially," said Brian Frenkel, chair of the recovery initiative's community working group.
The $150,000 research project has had contributions from Rio Tinto Alcan, and the federal and provincial governments.
There are an estimated 450 adult sturgeon left in the Nechako River system, down from an estimated healthy population of about 8,000.
Scientists have already determined the young fish aren't surviving.
And because the majority of fish are 40 years or older, natural death rates are diminishing the number of sturgeon left in the Nechako, a species genetically distinct from sturgeon in the Fraser River.
The sturgeon has been listed as endangered by federal agencies.
Frenkel said the research utilizing the 2,100 cubic metres of clean gravel is important because it's believed that silt could be a factor in the sturgeon's poor early survival rate.
Accumulation of silt and sand in the spawning areas can cover the sticky eggs. Fine sediments also fill in spaces within the gravel, reducing hiding places, potentially exposing larvae, the early stage of sturgeon development, to predators.
The Nechako sturgeon recovery initiative has been using a number of methods to ensure the species does not go extinct.
About 15,000 young hatchery fish have been released, but the program was halted in 2009 because of a lack of funding.
The Nechako White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative is advocating for the construction of an estimated $3.5-million hatchery facility in Vanderhoof, west of Prince George.
While the province put up $1.5 million in funding in 2008, and the District of Vanderhoof has offered up land and infrastructure costs, the facility needs more money to go ahead.
