Missouri anglers are seeing lake sturgeon more often.

The endangered prehistoric fish species is native to the Show-Me State. Travis Moore, fisheries biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, said the lake sturgeon has been getting around lately.

“One of the things we’ve learned is that from some of our transmitter-ed fish, they do not always stay within our boundaries,” Moore told Missourinet. “We’ve had a number of fish show up in Arkansas, Illinois, (and) Ohio. We’ve even had one that’s made its way to South Dakota and back to Missouri several times.”

Lake sturgeon can live more than 150 years, and grow to over 200 pounds and up to three feet long. Moore also said to not be confused by the name.

“(The lake sturgeon is) found within primarily our big rivers. So it’s a little bit of a misnomer when folks hear the word ‘lake sturgeon,’” he said. “They think it’s going to be in some of our bigger reservoirs, but they actually do best in our in our big river systems and a lot of the tributaries that run into them.”

The lake sturgeon’s population is growing, but it’s still endangered – thus they’re illegal to keep if they’re caught by anglers. Moore said anyone who catches one can take a picture of it, but then they have to throw it back.

More information on the lake sturgeon can be found on the Missouri Department of Conservation’s website.