White Sturgeon ; Oregon Sturgeon 



it ascends the larger rivers for considerable distances, but it is 

 also true that some individuals remain in fresh water throughout 

 the year. They have been taken in Snake River in Idaho at 

 least from March to October inclusive. It is said that they appear 

 at Upper Salmon Falls just after high water in the spring and 

 remain until winter, if not longer. They are most plentiful in 

 spring when the water is muddy. 



Very little has been recorded regarding the food of this stur- 

 geon, though it doubtless consists largely of small animals and 

 plants which are sucked in through the tube-like mouth. Small 

 fish also seem to form no inconsiderable part of their diet. A 

 young sturgeon, 25 inches long, had 1 1 minnows in its stomach, 

 and in the stomach of larger examples were found several suck- 

 ers, each about a foot in length. In the lower part of the 

 Columbia River the sturgeon are said to feed largely on sardines, 

 smelts, and other small fish, and lamprey eels are said to make 

 excellent sturgeon bait. 



The season for the sturgeon fishery in the Columbia River 

 extends from April to November. The fish are caught on set- 

 lines, in pounds, and to some extent in gillnets. The usual 

 price is 4 to 5 cents a pound dressed, while the roe brings 25 

 to 30 cents a pound. The fish are either frozen and shipped 

 East or the flesh is smoked. The roe is made into caviar, the 

 manufacture of which is explained in connection with the con- 

 sideration of the common American sturgeon. 



Only a few years ago the sturgeon of the West Coast were 

 regarded with great disfavour by the salmon fishermen, who were 

 greatly annoyed by the sturgeon getting in their nets. As they 

 had no commercial value, they were knocked in the head and 

 thrown away. But about 1888 their value began to be appreci- 

 ated, and since that year every effort has been made to obtain 

 them. The catch, however, has never been large, and the stur- 

 geon fisheries of the West Coast are now quite depleted. 



Head 4 in length; depth 7; dorsal rays 44 to 48; anal 28 

 to 30; dorsal plates 11 to 14; lateral 36 to 50; ventral 9 to 12. 

 Snout sharp in the young, becoming rather blunt and short in 

 the adult in which it is considerably shorter than rest of head; 

 barbels rather nearer tip of snout than mouth; gillrakers abo 

 26, comparatively long; first caudal fulcrum, above and below 



