Fish book son indd

Sturgeons – contemporaries of dinosaurs
127
Back in the late 19
th
 and early 20
th
 centuries, the Atlantic sturgeon had 
commercial value in many European countries. Between 150 and 200 tons (or 
about 14,000-16,000 fi sh) of sturgeon were caught annually across the entire 
geographic area. But in the 1930s, catches fell to 50-60 tons.  In the USSR (Baltic 
and Black Seas) during these years, approximately 8-10 tons were harvested. 
Overfi shing,  runoff  control activities, and progressive pollution of rivers, 
where it entered for spawning, are reasons for the catastrophic decrease in 
numbers, and this has placed this fi sh on the brink of complete extinction. 
The total Atlantic sturgeon stocks in Gironde River at the beginning of the 
1960s were determined to be only 1,000 fi sh. At present, the size of the largest 
preserved Rioni population of sturgeons apparently does not exceed 300 
specimens. This species can be saved only by immediate, joint eff orts of a 
number of countries directed to the artifi cial breeding. These measures are 
currently being determined. However, it is extremely diffi
  cult to catch even a 
few spawners in natural conditions to carry out this work.

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G.M.Palatnikov,  R.U.Qasimov
128
DID YOU KNOW …
… that the scientifi c name of sturgeons translated from 
Latin means ‘precious’.
… that the sturgeon has lived on Earth for more than fi ve 
million years, outliving even dinosaurs and mammoths.
… that in the time of Peter the GreatI it was ordered 
that bells should not ring and that oar blades should be 
wrapped in soft  cloth to prevent scaring sturgeons during 
their spawning period.
… that the Atlantic sturgeon is undoubtedly the largest 
of all sturgeons. Back in 1939, a sturgeon 283 cm long and 
weighing 130 kg was caught in Lake Ladoga. The Atlantic 
sturgeon is on the list of fi sh which it is absolutely forbidden 
to capture. 
… that the largest sturgeon ever caught by an angler 
weighed 212.28  kg. It was caught by Joey Pallott a on July 9, 
1983 outside Benicia (California, USA.)
Few people know that sturgeons live for a very long time. 
They can live for up to 150 years, but they are currently 
endangered species.

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Sturgeons – contemporaries of dinosaurs
129
Atlantic (long-nose) sturgeon (A. oxyrinchus) – Atlantic coast of America 
from Labrador to the Gulf of Mexico.
This is a near threatened species listed in the Red List of the International 
Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, under category II.
It is close to the Atlantic sturgeon A. sturio and sometimes considered 
a subspecies of the latt er. It is widespread at the coast of North America. It 
is a very large sturgeon reaching 2.5-3.5 m in length and 160 kg in weight. 
Historical sources of the fi rst half of last century mention catching giant fi sh 
weighing 270 kg (in 1932) and even 365 kg (in 1924).
It diff ers from the European Atlantic sturgeon by its longer upper tail 
fi n blade. Young and adult fi sh have approximately the same coloring: dark 
blue (even black) head and back and lighter sides. The scutes are light and 
contrasting in color. The underside is white, sometimes with a pink hue. The 
range of these sturgeons extends along the Atlantic shores of North America 
from Labrador and the St. Lawrence River in the north to Florida, the Gulf of 
Mexico and lower Mississippi in the south.
This is typically a migratory fi sh. It goes to spawn upstream of many 
rivers in Canada and the USA: the St. Lawrence and its tributaries, St John, 
Delaware, Hudson, Potomac, Merrimac and relatively small rivers running 
from the Appalachians (North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana.). 
Its spawning travel is not that long, just 140-200 km from the sea. The vast 
majority of spawners go upstream in spring, but some start traveling in winter. 
In southern rivers spawning takes place in March and April and in those to 
the north (the tributaries of the St. Lawrence) - in June. The water temperature 
in the spawning period is 12-18
0
C. The eggs are relatively small, more than 
100 per 1g, and their diameter is between 2.5 and 2.7 mm. Fecundity is very 
high, up to 3.7 million; in large females it usually ranges from 800 thousand 
to 2.4 million. Aft er laying their eggs the spawners immediately return to the 
ocean. 
Juveniles grow quite quickly, and in August and September the under-
yearlings (St. Lawrence River) reach 13-20 cm in length. They stay for a few 
years in the brackish waters of estuaries and then go out into the ocean aft er 
reaching a length of 76-92 cm.

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G.M.Palatnikov,  R.U.Qasimov
130
The  fi sh do not achieve maturity before they reach a length of at least 
122 cm. In estuaries the juveniles feed on chironomids, larvae and mollusks. 
Once in the sea, they feed on fi sh and mollusks.
There is no information available on the abundance of this species. Back 
in the late 1970s and early 1980s, about 60 tonnes of sturgeon were caught 
in South and North Carolina alone, while the total amount for the US and 
Canada was approximately 100 to 130 tonnes. There are diff erent commercial 
fi shing regulatory controls in diff erent states: from absolute prohibition 
through to licensed fi shing and unrestricted catching.
Additional biological data is required to implement wide-scale stock 
replacement of this sturgeon and to rear it artifi cially. 
White sturgeon (A. transmontanus) – Pacifi c coast, from Alaska to 
California.
Green sturgeon (A. medirostris) - Pacifi c coast, from the Aleutians to the 
borders of Mexico.
Chinese sturgeon (A. sinensis) – Basins of Yangtze River, Pearl River and 
Chinese Sea.
Shortnose sturgeon (A. brevirostrum) – North Carolina and Florida, the 
USA.

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