White sturgeon

The White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus, meaning "sturgeon beyond the mountains"), also known as the Pacific sturgeon, Oregon sturgeon, Columbia sturgeon, Sacramento sturgeon, and California white surgeon, is a sturgeon (a fish of the family Acipenseridae) which lives along the west coast of North America from the Aleutian Islands to Central California.

It is the largest freshwater fish in North America. A white sturgeon can weigh more than 1500 pounds (680 kg), and grow to 20 feet (6.2 m) in length, and can live 100 years or more.

Physical appearance

The white sturgeon has a large body, head and mouth. This fish has no scales; instead it has large bony scutes that serve as a form of armor. There are 11-14 scutes in front of the dorsal fin, and none behind it. There are another 38-48 scutes on the side and 9-12 bottom scutes. The dorsal color of a White Sturgeon is gray, pale olive, or gray-brown. The fins are a dusky, opaque gray. The underside is a clean white. It has four barbels, used for sensing food, near its huge toothless mouth.

Sturgeons are classified as a bony fish, but actually are more cartilaginous than bony, their internal bone structure being more like a shark’s. Sturgeon have changed very little since they first appeared, over 175 million years ago and thus have the appearance of a very ancient fish.

Habitat

The white sturgeon lives on the bottom of slow-moving rivers, bays, and estuarine areas, including the brackish water at the mouths of large rivers. Other sturgeon will spend most of its time in a marine environment, only coming into rivers to spawn. They are well-adapted to finding food drifting by with their excellent sense of smell and taste. When there is an insufficient food supply, sturgeon have been known to move into shallow water to eat freshwater clams.

During the spawning season, the white sturgeon moves to clean, fast-moving areas of rivers, such as just below rapids, with gravel or larger rocks along the bottom.

Life cycle

White sturgeon spawn many times in their lives. As they age, the females spawn less often, but produce more eggs in each spawning. In the late spring or early summer, they congregate in areas of rivers with a heavy current, gravel bottom, and a water temperature of 58° to 66°F (14°-19°C). The fish broadcast spawn in these areas, with males releasing sperm as the outnumbered females release anywhere from 100,000 to a million eggs. The fertilized eggs then sink and adhere to the gravel at the bottom. The eggs are brown in color and will hatch in about a week, depending on water temperature.

Upon hatching, the larvae are around 0.5 in. (1.3 cm) long, with a tadpole-like appearance. They drift downstream with the current until they reach a suitable habitat. When the rearing habitat is reached, the larvae typically take around 25 days for the yolk sac to be absorbed. About a month after hatching, the sturgeon will have a full set of fins, rays, and scutes. As small juveniles, they feed on insects, small fish, and small crustaceans. Maturity is reached between 5 and 11 years, depending on the gender of the fish and the temperature of the water.

White Sturgeon can live to be over 100 years old. The rate of growth is dependent on water temperature. Typically, they reach six feet long around 25 years of age, showing that these fish do not grow as quickly as many other fish. White Sturgeon, traditionally, were anadromous. However, since the building of many dams along the Columbia and Snake rivers, many populations have become landlocked.

Diet

A sturgeon's taste buds are located on the outside of its mouth. This, along with the barbels, allows it see if a possible food source is edible before sucking it up into its mouth. As adults, the white sturgeon’s diet somewhat varies. This is dependent upon the river systems it lives in. In the Columbia River system, dead fish, crustaceans, and mollusks are all popular prey. Lampreys, primitive eel-like fish, come into rivers to spawn at the same time as the white sturgeon, and are a popular food source at that time. Smelt is another food that is abundant around spawning time. Shad come into the Columbia River system in throngs of several million each spring. The extremely large shad runs are often cited as an example of why the lower Columbia River has such a large population of Sturgeon. Like the smelt, these fish often die, and the remains are an easy meal for sturgeon. Shrimp is yet another prey of sturgeon, with sand shrimp being most common.

Impact of fishing and habitat change

Historically, sturgeon have been a very important fish, both commercially and for sporting purposes. At one point, sturgeon populations in all of the Columbia River system were threatened. This was caused by over-fishing for commercial purposes. A commercial fishery began in the 1880’s. In 1892, this fishery reached a peak, when over five and one half million pounds of sturgeon were harvested. By the dawn of the 20th century, the seemingly endless supply of sturgeon was severely depleted. In the 1940’s a six-foot maximum size restriction. The commercial fishing of white sturgeon has remained to this day and was valued at US$10.1 million in 1992.

Damming along the rivers has also become a threat to sturgeon. The higher water levels have, as a result, destroyed areas that used to have rapid currents, eliminating spawning grounds. At this point in time, the only stable population of White Sturgeon on the Columbia River and its tributaries is the lower Columbia River population. These fish are still able to move freely between marine, estuarine, and freshwater environments. All other populations have become landlocked because of the dams. These populations have suffered from the inaccessibility of many food sources, inability to migrate, and destruction of their habitat. As a result, only three of the populations above Bonneville Dam are considered to be abundant. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has worked together with The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to impose size restrictions on all sturgeon caught in the Columbia River. However, the danger is still here. Poaching is also partly responsible for declining numbers.

In the future, more commercial and recreational fishing regulations will be forced upon people in order to help protect this magnificent creature. These new regulations in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and Bonneville Power will help alleviate the over harvest of Sturgeon and destruction of Sturgeon habitat.

The commercial fishery uses white sturgeon for few products, the eggs being most sought after. Caviar is considered a delicacy in many parts of Europe and North America. The size restrictions make it impossible for recreational fishermen to use caviar. The fish caught legally by sport fishermen are too small and not yet sexually mature enough to make harvesting worthwhile. Thus the commercial fishermen reap all the benefits.

The threat of toxins is especially high in Sturgeon meat. Because of its eating habits, sturgeon accumulate toxins in its flesh as it feeds. They feed on any sort of organic material found while scavenging; this includes raw sewage, dead fish, paper mill wastes, and plants sprayed by pesticides. Dioxin is an unintentional byproduct of paper bleaching and pesticides. It is also one of the most commonly found toxins in fish populations. PCB is also found in fish. It is used as a plasticizor in paint, rubber, and plastic products. Before the government ceased its production in 1977, more than 1,500,000,000 pounds (680,400 tonnes) were produced. Mercury is one of the more commonly known toxins found in fish’s flesh. Some have speculated that it is also the most dangerous. Sturgeon and other fish in the Columbia and Willamette rivers have registered .35-.50 parts per million. Although most accumulation in Sturgeon happens in the liver, pancreas, and other organs; the toxins still accumulate in the edible flesh. The Oregon Department of fish and Wildlife has issued warnings on all fish caught in the Willamette River. For areas with high mercury levels: (Willamette and Lower Columbia Rivers) “Women of childbearing age, children under six, and people with liver and kidney damage should avoid eating fish from these waters. Healthy adults should eat no more than one eight once meal per month.” Also for areas with high concentrations of PCB’s, Dioxins, and pesticides: (Willamette and Lower Columbia Rivers)

“All persons should reduce or avoid eating fatty parts of fish. Exposure can be reduced by removing the skin and all fat, eggs, and internal organs.”

Fishing for sturgeon is still very popular in the Columbia River and its tributaries. Current fishing regulations as imposed by The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife state that Sturgeon may only be kept if measuring between 42 and 60 inches (108 - 154cm). Also, one is only allowed to keep a Sturgeon of said length only on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. Also, one may only use a single point barbless hook. Bait used for Sturgeon is mostly its natural prey, although more unusual baits are sometimes used. These baits include cheese, anchovies, dog food, and cat food. A strong, 10-12 foot (3.1-3.7m)long rod and heavy salt water reel spooled with 40-100 pound test fishing line is used for bank fishing. For boat fishing a smaller 6-7 foot long rod is used. Anglers vary the amount of weight used depending on how heavy the current is, anywhere from 6-16 ounces (210-560g). Often, an angler will use a 10-12 inch soft braided leader to connect the weight to the hook. Sport fishermen divide the sturgeon into three classes: shakers, keepers, and oversize. Shakers consist of any fish under the legal size. They are so named for the way they fight, shaking the rod tip as they attempt to take the bait away. Keepers are any fish within the legal size requirement. Oversize, often called peelers, are any fish over the maximum size requirement of 5 feet (1.54m). They are called peelers because of the way they “peel” line off of the reel. Many sturgeon fishermen target these exclusively. When sturgeon first encounter the bait, they “mouth” it, which is to say that they taste and feel it before inhaling it whole.

References

Database entry includes a lengthy justification of why this species is of least concern
Connor, Bud; Great White Sturgeon Angling
Herring, Hal; “Don’t Eat That Fish”, Field and Stream; April 2004
Miller, Allen I.; Columbia River Basin White Sturgeon
Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations 2005

External links

Sturgeons | Jesiotr biały