Biologists catch big fish

Idaho Power has a big fish story to tell. The company said Monday that its biologists captured a female sturgeon measuring nearly 10 feet long and weighing an estimated 470 pounds in Hells Canyon.

The big fish was measured, tagged and released as part of a three-year survey of sturgeon populations below Hells Canyon Dam.

The survey is part of Idaho Power’s efforts to preserve and protect white sturgeon in the Snake River as part of its requirements under federal licenses to operate its hydroelectric projects, the utility said. Fish are captured and scanned for the presence of an electronic tag, given a tag if none is present, weighed, measured and released after genetic information is collected.