Fishes of the JVestern North Atlantic 3 i 



However, it has been observed that Sturgeon may rise to the surface to seize swimming 

 objects {6^: 265). 



The main Sturgeon food consists of bottom organisms such as oligochaete worms, 

 insects, mollusks, and crustaceans; occasionally plant material is found in their stomachs 

 as well. Sturgeons may feed on their own eggs, at least in the case oi A.fulvescens from 

 Lake St. Peter, Quebec (unpublished data from Messrs. L. Philippe and J.-P. Cuerrier), 

 and on different species of fish and birds. The gigantic Huso huso of the Caspian Sea 

 may even feed on newborn seals {^y. 435). 



Habitat. While the majority lives in both fresh and salt water and makes most of 

 the growth in the sea, at least two, fulvescens and ruthenus, are found typically in 

 fresh water, although the former has been reported as occurring in brackish water. 



Range. The species of Acipenser are spread throughout the whole northern 

 hemisphere, being particularly numerous in the Caspian and Black Sea basins. 



Commercial Importance. The fisheries for Sturgeon in North America have declined 

 greatly in the last hundred years, and their maintenance on a sustained-yield basis 

 constitutes a challenge to conservationists. Toward the end of the 19th century, catches 

 for certain years were over 5,000,000 pounds for all species combined, but in 1956 

 only 392,000 pounds were taken in Canada and 719,000 pounds in the United States 

 (combined value about $386,000)." The Lake Sturgeon {A. fulvescens^ in Canada and 

 the White Sturgeon [li. transmontanus) in the western United States yield the greater 

 part of the commercial catch. 



Most of the catch is consumed in the form of smoked Sturgeon and as caviar 

 made by curing the eggs with salt. Over the years, production of caviar has dropped" 

 so that in 1951 only 2,000 pounds, made from eggs oi A. fulvescens., were produced 

 in Canada, worth about $10,000 to the fishermen. 



In Europe, particularly in Russia, Sturgeon fisheries are extensive. The fish are 

 valuable not only for the flesh and eggs but for several other products; the commercial 

 product from the spinal cord is called "vyaziga," and the inner lining of the swim 

 bladder is used for the preparation of gelatine and glue of the best quality.^* The 

 head of a Sturgeon, rich in gelatinous substances, is a valuable food product; in Russia 

 it is sold separately from the flesh under the name "golovizna." In the Province 

 of Quebec, older people use oil made from Sturgeon liver as an ointment against 

 rheumatism. 



Although angling for Sturgeon by hook-and-line is not common, it is practiced 

 in some places, as around Montreal, Canada; there also is an important spear fishery 

 for sport for A. fulvescens in several northern waters of the United States.'' The 



16. A comprehensive summary of former catches of Sturgeon in North America is given by Rostlund (6/: 10-12). 

 The most recent available data for the whole continent are in "Fishery Statistics of the United States, 1956" 

 (74) and in "Fisheries Statistics of Canada, 1956" {26). 



17. According to Ryder, in 1888 fishermen from the Delaware River produced for the German market about 50 

 tons of caviar from eggs of A . oxyrhynchus (65: 278). 



18. For the preparation of isinglass, see Ryder (6$: 278) and Classen (jp: 426-428). 



19. Some information on Sturgeon spearing, for instance in Lake Winnebago, has been reported (56: 29). 



