Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 45 



there is a regular fishery for this species; at Quebec, although present catches are less 

 abundant than formerly, A.fulvescens is still taken in fair quantity; and it is reported 

 as being still very plentiful in the Hudson Bay area. Large A.fulvescens are taken early 

 in the spring or late in the fall. During the summer months, in the vicinity of Quebec 

 City from St. Nicolas to Montmagny, A. oxyrhynchus is more plentiful t\\2in fulvescens\ 

 however, both species are taken together quite often at the beginning and end of the 

 fishing season. The fish are caught with either gill nets (8—10 in. stretched mesh) or 

 weirs, and a few are taken on set lines baited with fish, or in New York on unbaited 

 set lines ("trap lines"). 



Relation to Man. Considering its entire range, the Lake Sturgeon is at present of 

 much greater commercial value than both the American Atlantic Sturgeon and the 

 Shortnose Sturgeon combined. The principal product is the meat for "smoked 

 Sturgeon." In 1951, in Canada, 2,000 pounds of caviar were made from the eggs of 

 this species. 



Range and Occurrence in the Western North Atlantic. Larger rivers and lakes, from 

 Hudson Bay to the Mississippi Valley; according to Hubbs and Lagler (^j: 30), 

 "from the Red River of the North, the Saskatchewan River in Alberta, and the Hudson 

 Bay, St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain drainages of Canada (and possibly from Labra- 

 dor), southward, west of the Appalachian Mountains, to the Tennessee River of Ala- 

 bama, to Missouri and to eastern Nebraska." On several occasions it has been reported 

 as being taken on the shores of Hudson Bay (j^: 30 [42]). ^^ In the St. Lawrence River, 

 where a general line of demarcation between fresh and brackish water can be drawn 

 from Cap Brule on the north shore to St. Jean-Port- Joli on the south shore, it is taken 

 in commercial quantities from Lauzon to Cap St. Ignace, together with oxyrhynchus. 

 Occasionally Lake Sturgeon venture even farther into brackish water. For instance, on 

 October 10, 1954, an A.fulvescens weighing five pounds was taken in a peche at St. Roch- 

 des-Aulnaies; information from Mr. Alfred Pelletier, proprietor. For further details 

 see Vladykov {yg: 54-57). It should be emphasized, however, that a sea-resident 

 stage, characterized by a rapid growth rate, has not been demonstrated for this species. 



Synonyms and References: 



Acipenser fulvescens Rafinesque, Amer. Mon. Mag., I, August, 1817: 288 (descr.. Great Lakes); Hubbs, 



Copeia, 1917: 48 (synon.); Hubbs, Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich., J5, 1926: 8 (in checklist); 



Dymond, Univ. Toronto Stud. Biol., 2y, 1926: 33 (descr.. Lake Nipigon, Ontario); Dymond, Hart, 



and Pritchard, Univ. Toronto Stud. Biol., JJ, 1929: 13 (statist, of catches); Jordan, Manual Vert. 



Anim. NE U.S., 1929: 33 (distr., key, and brief characteristics); Jordan, Evermann, and Clark, Rept. 



U.S. Comm. Fish. (1928), 2, 1930: 35 (in checklist); Greeley, N.Y. Biol. Surv. Champlain Watershed 



(1929), 4, 1930: 73 (Lake Champlain); Bajkov, Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. (1930), 60, 1931: 11 (statist. 



of catches, Manitoba); Greeley, N.Y. Biol. Surv. St. Lawrence Watershed (1930), 5, 1931: 81 (St. 



Lawrence R., New York); Bajkov, Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. (1930), 60, 1931: 11 (Manitoba, statist. 



of catches); Gowanloch, Bull. La. Conserv. Dep., 23, 1933: 412 (genl. acct.); Vladykov, Contr. Canad. 



Biol., 8 (29), 1933: 30 (42) (Hudson Bay region); Schrenkeisen, Field Bk. Freshw. Fish. N. Amer., 



1938: 13 (genl. acct.); Kuhne, Guide Fish. Tennessee, 1939: 17 (genl. acct.); Dymond, Contr. R. 



31. A young specimen of A.ful'vescens about 107 mm FL (USNM 27784) was taken by Walton Hayden at Moose 

 Factory, James Bay (a southern extension of Hudson Bay), no doubt in brackish water. 



