This is a big, ol' paddle fish..and this is a relatively small
one. Chris O'Barra, a biologist with The West Virginia Division
of Natural Resources, says paddlefish are certainly unique.
"Paddle fish are the largest fish that live in West Virginia
waters. They inhabit our large rivers, Ohio and Kanawha, and
some of their tributaries. They'll move up at certain times of
the year. They're plankton feeders, which means that they feed
on small, microscopic organisms in the water." These odd looking
creatures eat by opening their mouths and, basically, filtering
the plankton out as the water passes through. They must eat a
lot, because they grow to be huge. "They'll grow up to 100
pounds, most of the fish we get here are probably in the 25-50
lb. category. They are kind of an endangered species in West
Virginia, we had a decline in the 1920's up to the 1970's and
we've been trying to restore the species primarily in the Ohio
River and the Kanawha River." says O'Barra. In fact, we were
there five years ago when the