MOORINGSPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Two organizations in the ArkLaTex are working together to repopulate an ArkLaTex lake with a 300 million-year-old species called Polyodon spathula.
The Paddlefish, the official fish of Jefferson and Marion Counties in Texas, is often called a “living fossil.” Paddlefish are also known as spoonbills or spoonbill catfish–though paddlefish are certainly not catfish.
Laura-ashley overdyke, executive director of the caddo lake institute, holds a paddlefish before a release on mar. 5, 2023.
Fossil records show that the paddlefish species is older than the dinosaurs.
Paddlefish can live up to three decades and grow to 7′ long. Some paddlefish have reached the 200 lbs. mark, and their native home is the Mississippi River Basin–which includes the Red River and other East Texas rivers, including the Sulpher, Cypress, Sabine, Neches, Angelina, Trinity, and San Jacinto Rivers.
The Shreveport Aquarium is working with its partners at the Caddo Lake Institute to raise paddlefish and release them into Caddo Lake, one of the paddlefish’s ancestral grounds.
Supporters of the paddlefish can attend Shreveport Aquarium‘s Paddlefish Festival on March 2 at 10:00 a.m. to help send the fish to Caddo Lake. The event is included with an aquarium entry fee.
Guests can expect a recycled art contest, animal interactions and feedings, educational displays, special guests, and face painting from noon until 2:00 p.m.
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