74 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
10 small sturgeons were taken each week; while in a set of two nets in Lynnhaven Roads during the 
same period the weekly catch was 3 to 6, the usual size being from 30 to 40 inches in length. Even 
in Lower New York Bay, where the adult sturgeon is almost extinct, we have reason to believe that 
young fish are present in small to fair numbers at the present time. We observed a sturgeon 575 
millimeters in length (about 22^ inches) caught on December 21, 1923, off South Beach, New York, 
by being snagged in the side with a fish hook. A year later the same angler reported another small 
sturgeon caught in the same manner. 
During 1920 the Chesapeake Bay catch of sturgeon amounted to 22,888 pounds, worth $5,353. 
In addition there was obtained 2,654 pounds of caviar, worth $7,618. The total value of the catch, 
therefore, was $12,971. In Maryland the sturgeon ranked nineteenth in quantity and sixteenth 
in value. The catch consisted of 714 pounds of fish, worth $172, and 20 pounds of caviar, worth $87. 
In Virginia it ranked eighteenth in quantity and tenth in value. The catch consisted of 22,183 
pounds of fish, worth $5,181, and 2,625 pounds of caviar, worth $7,531. Of this amount, 90 per cent 
was caught in pound nets and 10 per cent in gill nets. According to the value of the fish and caviar, 
the leading counties were Norfolk, $3,518; Elizabeth City, $2,850; Mathews, $1,351; James City, 
$1,271; and Gloucester, $1,068. 
At one time the sturgeon was caught in large numbers throughout Chesapeake Bay, but it 
has become scarce, and now it is seldom taken north of the mouth of the Potomac River. Fishing 
is done so intensively that very few are able to reach the headwaters of the bay. 
A great decrease in the sturgeon catch occurred after the year 1897, followed by a further 
decline after 1904 (see table), since when it has never been taken in anything like its former 
abundance. In May, 1915, at Buck Roe Beach, Va., Radcliffe (field notes) stated: “Very few 
adults have been taken and few young observed. I saw fish caught on Buck Roe Beach 9 feet long, 
estimated weight 275 pounds, estimated weight of roe (prepared for shipment) 90 pounds. The owner 
had difficulty in marketing the fish. Roe worth 50 to 60 cents a pound.” Inquiries around the 
bay during 1921 and 1922 elicited the fact that sturgeons were scarce everywhere and had been for 
many years. During April and May, 1921, there appeared to be a slight increase in the lower bay 
pound-net catch as compared with the previous few years. During April, in a set of five pound 
nets off Buck Roe Beach, six sturgeons of marketable size were caught. On May 16 a 225-pound 
fish was taken in Lynnhaven Roads. The roe of this fish, after being rubbed and salted, weighed 
41 pounds and sold for $3.50 a pound. Other scattering fish were caught, of which we obtained 
no record. During 1922, in a set of three pound nets at Ocean View that fished from early March 
to April S, one large female and two males (the latter weighing 90 and 100 pounds, respectively) 
were caught. The aggregate catch of these nets up to May 26 was 20 sturgeons over 4 feet in length, 
13 of them males and 7 females. The largest amount of spawn from one of the females weighed 
59 pounds. In a set of two pound nets operated in Lynnhaven Roads during the same period no 
adults were caught. The first marketable sturgeon taken in the iast-mentioned nets in 1922 was 
a 40-pound male caught on May 25. At Buck R,oe Beach only three sturgeons were reported in 
1922 up to April 11. At Lewisetta, Va., on April 22, 1922, the fishermen reported that: “The 
sturgeon have been scarce this year but are occasionally taken.” At Solomons, Md., on April 26, 
it was said: “A few sturgeon have been taken in this vicinity this spring; one large one was caught 
April 24.” At Love Point, Md., no sturgeons were reported caught during the year 1921. At 
Havre de Grace, on May 9, the report was: “None caught this year nor for the past three years. 
At the end of May a few are sometimes taken.” 
Most of the sturgeons caught in the lower Chesapeake are taken during April and May. Dur- 
ing this period large fish are taken, many of them containing eggs suitable for making caviar. 
Sturgeons are caught during the summer and fall, but usually these fish are rather small (less than 
100 pounds) and contain immature roe. Records were obtained from a set of two pound nets 
located at Lynnhaven Roads, Va., giving the number of sturgeons caught from 1916 to 1922, both 
inclusive. The aggregate catch, by months, for this period is as follows: April, 9 fish; May, 15 
fish; June, 9 fish; July, 4 fish; August, 2 fish; September, 1 fish; October, 9 fish; November, 
1 fish. 
In comparison with the present-day scarcity of sturgeons, the catches made in the following 
rivers during 1880 show that at one time this fish was abundant in the Chesapeake drainage: 
James River, 108,900 pounds; York River and tributaries, 51,661 pounds; Rappahannock River, 
