St. Croix River Fish Featured in New DNR Aquarium at Minnesota State Fair

Fish from our beloved St. Croix River will be on display this week at the Minnesota State Fair.

The Minnesota DNR completely renovated its indoor fish exhibit this year, installing five large aquariums.

Each tank shows fish in their native Minnesota habitat: trout of southeast Minnesota; fish of the St. Croix River; and species of central, southern and northern Minnesota lakes.

“By focusing on fish communities and their habitat, we hope people will gain a better understanding of how good angling depends on healthy ecosystems,” DNR East Metro Fisheries Manager TJ DeBates stated in a news release. The DNR’s east metro fisheries crew stocks and manages the State Fair fish exhibit.

The tanks that previously offered fair visitors a close-up look at native fish were nearly 30 years old and in poor condition.

The new tanks are lower to the ground, according to the DNR, making them more accessible to viewers of all sizes and abilities. They also have new heaters and pumps to maintain healthier conditions for their aquatic inhabitants.

The $460,000 renovation was funded by bonding money approved by the Minnesota Legislature and appropriated to the DNR to maintain safe and accessible facilities.

According to a post on St. Croix 360, the St. Croix fish featured in the DNR’s State Fair exhibit will include:

• Spotted sucker
• Walleye
• Sauger
• Smallmouth bass
• Muskellunge
• Flathead catfish
• Channel catfish
• Redhorse (sucker species)
• Bigmouth and smallmouth buffalo
• Quillback and carpsucker
• American eel
• Lake sturgeon
• Shovelnose sturgeon
• Gar
• White bass