Visitors flock to celebrate birthday of the elderly Herman the Sturgeon

A crowd of onlookers — some wearing party hats — stood in front of a gigantic tank to sing “Happy Birthday” to Herman, a 500-pound sturgeon housed at Bonneville Fish Hatchery and one of Oregon’s largest tourist attractions.

Herman’s home, located in Cascade Locks about 40 miles east of Portland, is the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s largest hatchery facility. Starting in the 1930s, the sturgeon had been a longtime fixture at the Oregon State Fair.

He has lived in his enclosure at the hatchery since 1998, constructed so that he would have more room to move around, and for his hundreds-of-thousands of visitors to catch a glimpse at one of the state’s most famous fish.

It’s unclear exactly how old Herman is (likely in his 80s, according to the Oregon Wildlife Foundation), but that mattered little to those who trekked to the hatchery to see him in person. Small children quietly gasped as Herman trudged by the front of the tank.

Melody St. John of Los Angeles travels to Portland each year with a group of students enrolled in an exchange program she helps run, and said she always pays a visit to Herman. The fact that it was his birthday made it even more special.

“I’ve never been to a birthday party for a sturgeon before — this made my day,” St. John said.

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Despite being in the public eye for so long, onlookers are still impressed by Herman’s size and ancient appearance. Tim Greseth, executive director of the Oregon Wildlife Foundation, said sturgeons are remnants of prehistoric times.

“In Oregon, there’s a long public understanding of Herman the Sturgeon, and sort of a love fest with this creature,” Greseth said.

To be clear, there have been multiple “Hermans the Sturgeons” over the decades, and each iteration has seen its share of drama, more than one might expect for a gigantic fish. A man attempted to kidnap Herman in 1983, while another attempted to stab him.

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There have been multiple thefts of sturgeon from the hatchery, which Greseth said is because people were looking for sturgeon eggs that are often used to make expensive caviar. Herman’s new enclosure was created, in part, to provide him more security to deter would-be thieves, he said.

Nowadays, Herman leads a much more peaceful existence, except for the occasional song wishing him another happy year.