REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF FISH COMMISSIONERS. 



55 



There are besides these a number which are found in several of these 

 systems. The trouts and suckers are, however, different for each system. 

 Taking up the different species used for food separately: 



AciPENSERIDiE, OR StURGEON, 



The sturgeons are among the largest of the fresh-water fishes. Like 

 the salmon they spend some of their time in the bays and ocean, and 

 ascend the streams to spawn. There are two species found on the 

 Pacific Slope, to which they are confined, those in the eastern rivers 

 being quite distinct. 



Acipenser transmontanus Richardson. White Sturgeon. 



This sturgeon is said to reach a weight of six hundred pounds. It is 

 almost daily brought into the San Francisco markets. Those offered 

 for sale vary from two to seven feet in length. It is said to reach a 

 length of twelve feet. It is sold in the restaurants as " tenderloin of 

 sole." Large numbers enter all of the large streams from the Sacra- 

 mento to the Frazier River. 



Acipenser medirostris Ayres. Green Sturgeon. 



This species is much rarer than the White sturgeon, but is not infre- 

 quently iDrought into the markets. It reaches as large a size as the 

 preceding. The young of these two sturgeons differ greatly from the 

 adult, and the young of the two species are not distinguished in the fish 

 stalls. Dr. Jordan said ten years ago, that this sturgeon was reputed 

 poisonous and not used for food. Although it is still looked upon with 

 less favor than the White, or ..the sturgeon, it is no longer considered 

 poisonous. This property is now ascribed to the young of this or of 

 both species. The old can readily be distinguished from the White 

 sturgeon by its rough skin and by the green band along the belly. 



Catostomid^, or Suckers. 



The sucker is almost entirely a North American product; of the many 

 species only two are found elsewhere. The suckers found in California 

 are all species peculiar to the western slopes of America. The Buffalo 

 fishes, which belong to this family, are not found on the Pacific Slope. 

 All the species are more or less valuable as food. The California suckers 

 all belong to the genera Catastomus and Chasmistes, and each river sys- 

 tem has one or more which is peculiar to it. The majority ascend small 

 streams in spring to spawn. 



