During the early 20th century, British Columbia's white sturgeon population was decimated by fishermen.
In 1994, an angling ban on sturgeon was introduced to stop overfishing.
The Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society's tagging program began in 1999 to monitor the population and make recommendations to restore sturgeon numbers.
According to the Government of Canada, despite conservation efforts, Fraser River sturgeon remain in decline.
Studies on the Nechako, Upper Columbia and Fraser river systems say contributing factors "may include overfishing prior to the 1994 ban on angling, incidental catches and poaching since then, pollution and changes to the river landscape by human construction."
Jacob Bergen tags sturgeon and works as a catch-and-release fishing guide at BC Sportfishing Group in Harrison Hot Springs.
You can follow Bergen's fishing adventures on his TikTok and Instagram.
