Flood-stranded sturgeon pushed, pulled and carried back to the Fraser River - CBC.ca

A flood-stranded sturgeon is now back in the comfortable confines of the main stem of the Fraser River thanks to the volunteer efforts and cardiovascular capacity of two angling guides, who pushed, pulled and carried the giant fish two kilometres to deep water.

Video sent to the Fraser Valley Angling Guides Association (FVAGA) shows it struggling in an isolated and shallow pool left behind by receding floodwaters from recent catastrophic rains in B.C.

After seeing the video, the FVAGA jumped into action, dispatching two professional sturgeon guides — Tyler Buck and Jay Gibson — on a catch-and-release mission like no other.

A short video posted by the FVAGA shows Buck and Gibson slogging through thigh-high brown water — one at the head of a custom cradle holding the giant fish, the other at the tail.

Estrada said the fish was in good condition when it was released back into the main stem of the Fraser.

The Fraser River sturgeon fishery is strictly catch-and-release.

Fraser River white sturgeon are the largest and longest-living species of freshwater fish in North America, according to the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society, and can live 150 years and grow to six metres and 600 kilograms.

The non-profit Fraser River Angling Guides Association has been running upward of 15 volunteer boats a day along the river since the flood devastation of two weeks ago, bringing people, pets and livestock to safety and delivering food, medicine and other supplies to residents cut off from services.

We're going to find fish, once the water drops, in a lot of areas that they aren't normally in," he said.

But we're going to have to keep our eyes open for more sturgeon recoveries as the water drops.".