ALTON, Ill. – A new livestream camera, documenting ancient lake sturgeons below the Mel Price Lock and Dam in Alton, Illinois, has gone live.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), the purpose of the livestream cameras is to monitor the species’ spawning activity. 

The state of Missouri declared the Lake sturgeon as an endangered species in 1974, and since then, MDC has made efforts to preserve the population.

MDC officials say that it takes about 20-30 years for female lake sturgeons to reach maturity—which creates challenges for the animals to populate. Lake sturgeons that have survived from the ‘80s and ‘90s are expected to reproduce, MDC says.

On the department’s website, it was reported that the first confirmed sighting of the lake sturgeon in Missouri was in 2015.

“These cameras will be immensely helpful for discovering and monitoring the fishes’ spawning activity as part of MDC’s endangered lake sturgeon recovery program,” MDC wrote on social media.

A second camera is expected to be added in the future, but lake sturgeon enthusiasts can tune in to the new livestream here.