Family: Acipenseridae, Sturgeons view all from this family
Description An elongate fish, pentagonal in cross section, with a heterocercal tail and shark-like fins. Top of head and back bluish black, shading to white on belly. Mid-dorsal scutes oval, longer than broad, and without pronounced hooks on their keels; spines and keels on mid-dorsal scutes white, contrasting with dark-colored back. Upper half of dorso-lateral scutes matching background, lower half paler than background. Front edges of pectoral and pelvic fins and lower lobe of caudal fin white. Snout moderately long, with transverse row of 4 barbels on underside. Mouth narrow, less than half as wide as distance between eyes. TL: female to 14' (4.3 m), male to 8'3" (2.5 m).
Endangered Status The Gulf Sturgeon, a subspecies of the Atlantic Sturgeon, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered throughout its range in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Overfishing and changes to habitat (brought about by many factors, including damming of waterways, dredging, and pollution) have combined to put this species in danger. Because Gulf Sturgeons don't reproduce until they are between 7 and 21 years old, they can't quickly bounce back from dips in population. A number of organizations, both public and private, are combining efforts to help this sturgeon recover.
Habitat Usually close to shore in coastal waters, occasionally farther out on continental shelf and offshore banks. Moves into fresh water to spawn.
Range Generally confined to Atlantic coast from Labrador to e Florida, and n Gulf of Mexico. Reports from French Guiana may be erroneous, and a record from Bermuda is more than 100 years old.
Discussion Sturgeons are spectacular fish highly valued for their caviar and for their flesh. They grow quite large: A record female was 14 feet (4.3 m) long and weighed 811 pounds (368 kg). Sturgeons are usually taken in nets during their spring spawning runs. The exact time of spawning depends on temperature and can begin as early as February in the south, June or July in the northern part of the range. Females take eight to 30 years to reach sexual maturity (the farther north they live the longer it takes) and spawn only every three to five years. Sturgeons are bottom feeders and consume a variety of invertebrates. The Atlantic is the only sturgeon in our area. The Gulf of Mexico population, considered a subspecies (A. o. desotoi), is very poorly known but is now under study. Its mid-dorsal scutes are squarish and usually have two strong hooks on their central keel.
