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Comment by morsch | Hacker News Reader

Its cousin, the American paddlefish, is still around, though it's vulnerable.

Among other similar reasons (overfishing, pollution), dams are related to its decline: "Series of dams on rivers such as those constructed on the Missouri River have impounded large populations of American paddlefish, and blocked their upstream migration to spawning shoals.[29]"

But it's not too late...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_paddlefish#Population...

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Fishing is highly...and I do mean highly regulated in Montana (spawning grounds). http://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=AFCAB0101... There are wildlife biologists that harvest the eggs and process the meat for you. You must apply for tags and the season can be shutdown if a limit is reached before the end of the season. I fished it once and was glad I didn't catch anything. My heart wasn't in it after I saw the first one caught. They reminded me too much of dolphins and they have to be snagged. They do not take bait so the fish...imo is not brought in as quickly and humanely as I was comfortable with. We hunted and fished because without it quality protein was scarce during my childhood. It was a creature I just chose to appreciate and eat more mac and cheese.

This is going to come off much snarkier than I mean it, but were rice and beans not available in Montana at that time? I am a big fan of seafood but there is a lot of "quality protein" middle ground between meat and mac and cheese.

:). Yeah there were. "Mac and cheese" is a fillin for ramen, rice, beans, ketchup and tortillas, and whatever leftovers I could scrounge from friends and take home from washing dishes in the cafeteria.

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