A Freshwater Giant Living in the Great Lakes May Be Older than the United States

These fish may live for centuries

Researchers have found evidence that lake sturgeon may routinely live well beyond 200 years, with some approaching 300 years—far longer than scientists previously believed. When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, some lake sturgeon swimming through the Great Lakes today may have already been alive. “These fish are a living connection to history.” That’s the surprising conclusion of a Michigan Department of Natural Resources and …

A Freshwater Giant Living in the Great Lakes May Be Older than the United States

Decades of tagging data suggest lake sturgeon could live well past 400 years old.