(WXYZ) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service caught a massive lake sturgeon in the Detroit River earlier this week, measuring nearly 7-feet long and more than 200 pounds.
According to a post on Facebook, the "real-life river monster" had a girth of nearly 4-feet, was 6-feet-10 and weighed 240 pounds.
It's one of the largest lake sturgeon ever recorded in the country.
According to the USFWS, they assume the fish is a female and likely hatched in the Detroit River around 1920.
The USWF said she was measured and quickly released back into the river.
According to the USFWS, the lake sturgeon is a remnant of the dinosaur age but its population in Michigan is about 1% of its former population. Sturgeon numbers in the Detroit River have been greatly reduced by channelization, loss of coastal wetlands, water pollution and more.
In 2019, a U.S. Geologic Survey found lake sturgeon eggs on the new Fort Wayne Reef, which was constructed by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
