Family: Acipenseridae, Sturgeons view all from this family

Description To 12'6" (3.8 m); 1,387 lbs (630 kg). Elongate, rounded in cross section, head slightly flattened; gray above, lighter below. Snout short, broad, pointed; mouth ventral, below eye; 4 long barbels near tip of snout. 38-48 midlateral plates. Tail heterocercal.

Endangered Status The White Sturgeon is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered in Idaho and Montana. This fish began its decline after the Libby Dam went into operation in 1974 and altered conditions in the Kootenai River, in which it lives. The dam and other human encroachments have affected the sturgeon's spawning, egg incubation, nursery, and offspring-rearing habitats. Efforts are underway by both Canadian and U.S. organizations to monitor the sturgeon population and the dams and waterways that affect its habitat.

Related Species Green Sturgeon (A. medirostris) has long snout, concave in profile, 4 barbels closer to mouth than to tip of snout; 23-30 sharp bony lateral plates; occurs from Gulf of Alaska south to n. Baja California. Atlantic Sturgeon (A. oxyrhynchus) has 24-35 lateral plates along midside; occurs from Labrador to Louisiana. Both in similar habitat.

Habitat Over soft bottoms in ocean; in deep pools of large rivers.

Range In Pacific from Gulf of Alaska south to n. Baja California; in fresh water south only to Sacramento River, n. California.

Discussion White Sturgeons spawn in rivers during the spring. Males do not mature until they are 11 to 22 years old; females mature between 11 and 34 years. These large game fish feed on small fishes such as Eulachon, and crustaceans, and mollusks. Sturgeons are highly regarded both commercially, for their caviar and meat, and for sport.