KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Wildlife officials have caught three of the endangered, shovel-snouted fish known as pallid sturgeons from the Missouri River in the Kansas City area and are hoping to breed them.

The fish were flown to a federal fish hatchery at Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota. Workers there hope the sturgeons will reproduce and that their young can be released into the river.

"The idea is to get fish that live in this area and are adaptive to conditions, so we can put some back that are like them," said fishery biologist Todd Gemeinhardt.

The fish are each more than 3 feet long. Pallid sturgeons, with their reptile-like bodies, can grow to 100 pounds and up to 6 feet long, and live for 60 years.

"These brood fish are extremely important," said Rich Wehnes, fishery field supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "They'll add to genetic diversity at the hatchery and prevent weaknesses from inbreeding."

To encourage sturgeon to spawn, the Army Corps of Engineers had planned a spring rise in Missouri River levels this month and in May, but it canceled the March rise after deciding the amount of water in its system of reservoirs was too low.

The plan was the result of more than a decade of legal wrangling among diverse interests along the river, including environmental groups, farmers, recreational groups and the barge industry.

Biologists aren't sure if the recent sturgeon catches are the result of habitat work on the Missouri River or pure luck. But they say they're notable.

"It's significant," Wehnes said. "I'm real impressed with the run of spawning-size pallids we've collected. This bodes well."