MINIDOKA, Idaho (KLIX)-As the irrigation season came to a close in October four white sturgeon became stranded below a Magic Valley dam and had to be rescued.

According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Magic Valley regional staff captured four white sturgeon on October 22, below the Minidoka Dam as water levels dropped and the ancient fish became stranded in shallow pools. Idaho Fish and Game said a variety of fish become stranded after the end of irrigation season when water is shut off to many canal systems in the Magic Valley.

For some fish the pools remain large enough to survive until the next irrigation season and water begins to flow again, other cannot, such as the large white sturgeon. The sturgeon rescued measured from just tow feet to six feet in length and were placed on a two man sling to be transported to their new waters at Massacre Rocks State Park on the Snake River.

Each fish were tagged with a transponder about the size of a grain of rice so they can be identified later. Read more about Idaho Fish and Game's conservation efforts for the white sturgeon HERE.

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