HOOD RIVER, Ore. -- It's one of the oldest fish species on the planet. But there are new reasons to worry about the future of sturgeon in the Columbia River.

Sturgeon pre-date the dinosaurs -- more than 200 million years ago -- but now we learn that their future is in doubt because the Columbia River could be too hazardous for their and our health.

It's a scientific survey on the deep, wide Columbia, a river that holds ancient fish.

Scientists pull in a weighted net that stretches the length of a football field.

The team is counting, sampling and tagging white sturgeon.

But Doctor Deke Gunderson isn’t so sure that sturgeon are doing well.

He’s worried about what he’s found in some fish: poisons like pesticides, PCBs and mercury.

“Since these things bio-accumulate and they're very persistent, so they don't break down, they get stored in the fatty tissues of the organisms. The older they are, basically the more you see in the organisms,” he says.

In his lab you can see what he tests. Not just blood, but hundreds of tissue samples have been tested too. Here’s what he found in many fish:

“That's DDT and DDD.”

Gunderson says pesticides accumulated when DDT spraying was common in the last century.

Insecticides indiscriminately applied are massacring birds, mammals, fish -- indeed, any form of wildlife. The chemicals were banned in the 1970s but high levels remain in reservoirs above Bonneville Dam.

He says some of the sturgeon have mutated.

The more DDE they had, the less testosterone that they had. Certainly, as far as reproductive success goes, this could pose a problem for male fish.

Gunderson says the poisons could pose a risk to the people who eat sturgeon too.

“You'll get guys that's all they live for,” Dan Ponciano says.” They'll fish for them day in and day out and once they figure out a spot in the river they spend all their time in the river.”

Ponciano and fishing partners Rick and Frank enjoy casting and catching sturgeon. They also like to eat them and so far they’ve accepted the risk -- but that could change.

“The fish are gonna have some kind of contaminants in them nowadays -- there's just no getting around that,” Frank says. “I sure wouldn't recommend making a daily diet of it.”

Meanwhile, back up the Columbia, the netting and the sampling continues.

State fishery biologist Brad James agrees with Gunderson that more research on fish and people is needed:

“There definitely seems to be some areas that carry more contaminants in the sediments and so on. Probably needs to be additional work.”

“I think it's warranted for both human health and the health of the ecosystem and the fish that inhabit those pools,” Gunderson says.

Two things that are important to note about our story -- despite the new research, there are no state health advisories for people who choose to eat sturgeon from the Bonneville, Dalles or John Day pools

Second -- Dr. Gunderson will continue his research next summer -- looking at blood and tissue samples of the toxic sturgeon to see if there may be a link to people who eat the fish too. Well continue to follow the story.