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Paddlefish
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==Life cycle== Paddlefish are long-lived, and sexually late maturing. Females do not begin spawning until they are six to twelve years old, some even as late as sixteen to eighteen years old. Males begin spawning around age four to seven, some as late as nine or ten years of age.<ref name=LSU/><ref name=ND>{{cite web | title=Paddlefish questions and answers | publisher=North Dakota Game and Fish Department | url=https://gf.nd.gov/fishing/paddlefish-snagging/faq | access-date=June 9, 2014 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129140952/https://gf.nd.gov/fishing/paddlefish-snagging/faq | archive-date=November 29, 2016 }}</ref><ref name=TexasPWD-sp-dsc/> Paddlefish spawn in late spring if the proper combination of events occur; these include water flow, temperature, photoperiod, and availability of gravel substrates suitable for spawning. If all the conditions are not met, paddlefish do not spawn. Research suggests females do not spawn every year, rather they spawn every second or third year while males spawn more frequently, typically every year or every other year.<ref name=LSU/> Paddlefish migrate upstream to spawn, and prefer silt-free gravel bars that would otherwise be exposed to air, or covered by very shallow water were it not for the rises in the river from snow melt and annual spring rains that cause flooding.<ref name=MDC>{{cite web | title=Paddlefish | website=MDC online | url=http://mdc.mo.gov/node/1002 | access-date=June 9, 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20140611082939/http://mdc.mo.gov/node/1002 | archive-date=June 11, 2014 }}</ref> They are [[broadcast spawner]]s, also referred to as mass spawners or synchronous spawners. Fertilization occurs externally: [[Gravid]] females release their [[egg (biology)|eggs]] into the water over bare rocks or gravel at the same time males release their sperm. The eggs are adhesive and stick to the rocky substrate. The young are swept downstream after hatching and grow to adulthood in deep freshwater pools.<ref name=EoF>{{cite book |last=Wiley |first=Edward G. |year=1998 |editor1-last=Paxton |editor1-first=J.R. |editor2-last=Eschmeyer |editor2-first=W.N. |title=Encyclopedia of Fishes |publisher=Academic Press |place=San Diego, CA |pages=77β78 |isbn=0-12-547665-5 }}</ref>
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