LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Wildlife officials are continuing their efforts to restore the endangered pallid sturgeon to the Missouri River.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says more than 2,000 pallid sturgeon were recently stocked in the Missouri River near Nebraska’s eastern border.

Those 5- to 6-inch-long fish were stocked in two locations along the river where habitat has been built for the sturgeon. Some of the fish were placed near Tekamah in Burt County and the rest were placed near Rulo in Richardson County.

The fish is considered to be critically endangered because of its small remaining wild population. Efforts to rebuild the population include stocking rivers with pallid sturgeon from government hatcheries and improving spawning habitat.