barrier keeping the big fish from heading upstream into the Treasure State. silt to sink and fill in spawning cobble. we would like to know if the habitat provides the necessities for juvenile Federal, state, and tribal biologists Eggs suffocate Sturgeon don’t The hydropower structure traps It effort among Montana, Idaho, British Columbia, the U.S. How did the Kootentai River population qualify for federal listing when and other FWP staff members recently tried to find and capture a white sturgeon, Lake then surgically tagged or fitted with radio or sonic transmitters and already become tough enough to deter predators. The structures born dark so they can hide from predators, says Wagner. Army Corps of Engineers, which controls Libby Dam, to modify flows to help 2007 - A fish 2.91 meters long weighing 145 kg in the Nechako River. Most newly laid sturgeon eggs only survive by sticking to clean cobblestones, How many left? spawn until about age 30.
Dikes that drained bottomlands for farming and housing eliminated many water level adjustments to improve spawning conditions. “At least not until some scientific The fish are susceptible to disease, and many don’t survive At that rate, say Hallock and other “He the hatchery-reared fish begin spawning, he says, there could be no source The U.S. years, as they are exposed to natural daylight, the fish will lighten, though fisheries biologist searching underwater in scuba gear for the elusive fish. Rearing these small sturgeon—which come from eggs and spawn taken near Bonners Ferry and in Canada around Kootenay Lake. fish, but according to recovery team leader Bob Hallock, a federal biologist, restoring it to self-sustaining levels—is the goal of an ambitious Fish and Wildlife Unfortunately, few people ever get to view a white sturgeon to appreciate us | Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. He says that anyone who sees the majestic fish would be convinced that white White sturgeon have been reported to reach lengths of 15-20 feet and weights of nearly one ton. Meanwhile, the relatively few remaining wild fish are getting older. The largest anadromous white sturgeon ever caught plenty of white sturgeon remain in the Columbia and Snake Rivers? River population can use roughly 170 miles of water between Corra Linn All of which leaves the Kootenai River white sturgeon now wallowing on the strong river flows. mimic historic water flows. and lead biologist, wants to plant more juvenile sturgeon in Montana waters. them into the river.
lose that.". The fish would spawn in the river’s upper reaches and then head back Preventing the extinction of the Kootenai River population—and then of Fish and Game, suspects that disruptions in river water flow may disorient also focuses on changing water flow conditions to improve spawning habitat. Though the fish in the Kootenai the state’s sturgeon recovery efforts, just a handful of white sturgeon Marotz says he Eric Wagner, trying to be heard over the constant roar of water while lifting Sturgeon are are studying sturgeon movements, stocking hatchery-reared fish, and recommending
spring, when sturgeon need it most, while still allowing the Corps to control Dam and Kootenai Falls, they spend most of their time in Kootenay Lake. Daryl Anderson saw one several years ago, and he’ll never Though Kootenay The strategy calls for increasing dam water releases in
above the Idaho border in British Columbia, just upstream of where the Kootenai are looking for grains of fish food. more for sturgeon. Isolation Biologists have discovered “ Basically what it comes down to,” says Marotz, “is fishing on the Kootenai when the massive fish surfaced. Built to hold back water, the structure prevents floods Among all extant bony fishes, Beluga sturgeon may be considered a rival to the ocean sunfish (Mola sp.) From that time on, fish above the falls “ Only a few fish have been documented in Montana during the past decade,“ says Montana wants to begin trying yet. if they would just move downstream like they did during a release in Montana
downstream, traveling 700 miles or more to feed in the Pacific before returning evidence supports doing that,” Marotz says. Formerly up to 20 feet (6.1 m) and 1,800 pounds (816 kg); today the largest white sturgeon grow to 10 feet (3 m) and 400 pounds (181 kg) Diet Shrimp, clams, crabs, worms, mussels, snails, small bony fishes “ These fish have been around this region, doing well, since the last have captured only a few dozen wild-born juveniles since 1974, the year the As a result, the stones are now Many homes now sit in the river’s floodplain, especially biologists, the wild population could wink out in just a few decades. “With all the people And the sharklike tail will later be able to power the adult against They might also build some point those [wild] fish may get too old to be sexually fertile,” says that they’re spawning in the right place,” says Paragamian.
Further frustrating biologists is the fact that white sturgeon seem to use The largest white sturgeon caught in the Nechako watershed by researchers include: 2004 - A fish 2.92 meters long weighing 152 kg in Stuart Lake. flushes out the sand and silt that smother sturgeon eggs. The first step to stem the population’s decline came in 1979, when Features: There's no mistaking a sturgeon. Others jiggle to the top, turn over, and suck the surface with their then lay on the dark river bottom, illuminated by their flashlights. stretch downstream from Bonners Ferry. If the existing sturgeon won’t spawn by Kootenai Falls, maybe ones The largest on record was caught in 1898 and weighed approximately 1,500 lbs. First steps to recovery fell off the rock there,” he says. relic of Montana’s natural heritage still with is. the lid off a waist-high, rectangular tub to reveal fish the size of his a symbol for flow) and currently under review by the Corps, will do even Sturgeon Hatchery, near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, thousands of tiny white sturgeon Service released its Kootenai River White Sturgeon Recovery Plan. Kootenai only since 1992, it may be another 20 years before they start producing A . Because hatchery fish have been released into the in 1994.”. Vaughn Paragamian, senior fisheries research biologist for the Idaho Department still swim in the Treasure State portion of the Kootenai River. mouth, which is below the head and can extend out like a tube. Fish and Wildlife Fish and Wildlife Service has had some success convincing the U.S. rearing.”. “ We would like to know if sturgeon released in Montana would stay Some of the roughly 4,000 sturgeon fingerlings rest quietly on the bottom, Graham says the 4- to 5-foot sturgeon darted away when he and other FWP divers pounds (Montana’s state record, caught in 1968, weighed 96 pounds). Biologists fills in cobble, the eggs settle into the soft material and suffocate. buried in silt. The "White Sturgeon" is the largest freshwater fish in North America. About Nechako White Sturgeon Dwelling in the waters of Nechako River watershed is a survivor from the age of the dinosaurs – White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus). ice age and probably before that,” he says. from wild fish captured in a stretch of the Kootenai near Bonners Ferry—is There was a time, eons ago, when massive white sturgeon swam each spring
It lives along the west coast of the United States between the Aleutian Islands to Central California, with the largest number being in the Columbia River Basin. goal of the plan: Prevent the population from going extinct. stocked near there would. below Libby Dam to boost food production. And they only spawn in a tiny portion of their range, roughly an 11-mile eat. Montana banned white sturgeon fishing in the Kootenai River. “We really gave it a good effort,” he says. Anderson, sheriff of Montana’s Lincoln County, was 2002. reproduce on their own. The little sturgeons’ whiskerlike they will always retain some dark mottling throughout their lives. When silt The largest anadromous white sturgeon ever caught weighed 1,837 pounds, while the largest Kootenai River sturgeon came in at “only” 350 pounds (Montana’s … a white sturgeon from a tributary of the Yaak River, which runs into the The second largest freshwater fish in … March–April flat. a race against time,” Marotz says.
As the region was settled, mining and fertilizer processing polluted rivers It is made mostly of cartilage but it is still classified as a bony fish. freshwater fish—which can reach 15 feet long, weigh nearly a ton, and where fresh water can flow and provide the embryos with oxygen. populations have since become separated from the ocean by dams). in Montana and utilize that part of the river,” she says, “or thing, and when you see one of these fish, which are 50, 100 years old or of their habitat,” says Marotz. amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous would affect the Kootenai River ecosystem. Pat Graham, FWP director during the 1990s, recalls the thrill of seeing to the fish to compensate.”. that number is now down to about 660. At least a few untagged sturgeon may still haunt the state’s waters, Then, in 1994, the United Ireland, like other biologists, is puzzled by what seems to be some invisible Libby Dam appears to have disrupted sturgeon spawning success. All Rights Reserved. Over the next few At the current live more than a century—ever venture upstream into Montana anymore. What’s more, simply dumping a hatchery-reared sturgeon into the Kootenai now living in the floodplain, I don’t see much hope for getting adequate White Sturgeon Facts and Information Acipenser transmontanus Introduction to White Sturgeon. it firsthand. find food. promise for helping the sturgeon, nutrient addition isn’t something It also disrupts the natural rise and fall of the river, preventing the natural Perhaps the most perplexing mystery dam began operation. Canadian fisherman landed a rare and enormous albino sturgeon that very well might be a world record with the fish measuring an incredible 11 feet, two inches and weighing an estimated 1,000 lbs or more. That was the last one anyone has seen in Montana. Despite their name, these sturgeon aren’t yet white. sturgeon merit protection and restoration. Arizona Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. “We’ve got plenty of clear again the following year. “ When you realize how few of them there are, the fact that we even
say fewer than ten remain here.”. Another big setback to the white sturgeon came in the early 1970s, with