Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Saltwater Fish - Macaw Pets store

Sturgeon, White
Acipenser transmontanus
OTHER NAMES
sturgeon, Columbia sturgeon,
Oregon sturgeon,
Pacific sturgeon, Sacramento
sturgeon; French:
esturgeon blanc.
Distribution. White sturgeon
are limited to the
Pacific coast from the Aleutian
Islands, Alaska, to
Monterey Bay, California,
although they move far
inland to spawn. It is found
in the Fraser River system;
the Columbia River above
Revelstoke, British Columbia;
Duncan Lake, Vancouver
Island; and possibly
Okanagan Lake and other
coastal drainages. In Idaho,
the white sturgeon occurs in
the Snake River downstream
from Shoshone Falls and in
the Clearwater and the
Salmon Rivers. It is landlocked
in some drainages as
well.
Habitat. White sturgeon
primarily inhabit the estuaries
and bays of large rivers
and the deep pools of rivers
when inland.
236 Sturgeon, White
A member of the Acipenseridae family of sturgeon, the
white sturgeon is the largest fish occurring in freshwater in
North America. In some areas, populations have recovered
sufficiently since their decline in the early 1900s to support
important recreational and commercial fisheries.
Identification. The white sturgeon has a moderately blunt
snout as an adult, barbels closer to the snout tip than to the
mouth, and no obvious scutes (bony, scalelike plates)
behind the dorsal and the anal fins. The fish is gray to pale
olive on its upper body and white to pale gray on its ventral
side. It has 28 to 30 anal rays, 11 to 14 scutes on its back,
and 38 to 48 scutes along the sides.
Size/Age. White sturgeon have been reported at more
than 100 years old; most of the oldest individuals of the current
era are roughly 40 to 60 years old. Accounts of historic
landings of white sturgeon report maximum weights of
between 1,300 and 2,000 pounds and a length of 20 feet.
Fish under 6 feet long and weighing 60 to 70 pounds are
commonly caught today, and fish from 6 to 9 feet long and
weighing 200 to 500 pounds are possible.
Life history/Behavior. White sturgeon are anadromous,
migrating from the ocean into freshwater to spawn. Spawning
typically occurs from April through early July, when
water temperatures are 50° to 64°F, during the highest daily
flows of the river. Spawning occurs in swift water. When
hatched, yolk-sac larvae drift to deep water with slower currents
where they grow rapidly, sometimes 15 inches or
more in the first year. Females typically mature when 16 to
35 years of age, at roughly 47 inches in fork length.
Food and feeding habits. Adult white sturgeon are piscivorous
and do feed in freshwater. Common baits include
pile worms, ghost shrimp, grass shrimp, squawfish, and
carp.