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LAKE STURGEON Acipenser fulvescens (Rafinesque, 1817) <br />Order: ACIPENSERIFORMES Family: ACIPENSERIDAE <br />Significance: Once a very abundant species in the shallow waters of the Great Lakes . <br />Records are incomplete but a commercial catch of over 8.5 million pounds was recorded <br />in 1885. It is rare in either commercial or sport fisheries in recent years . <br />Distinguishing characteristic: Largest fish of the Great Lakes, sometimes exceeding <br />7 feet and 300 pounds . The sturgeon is sometimes called a living fossil as they are <br />still much like their ancestors of the upper Cretaceous period that were abundant <br />over 100 million years ago . <br />Present distribution: Throughout most of its former range in greatly reduced numbers . <br />Former distribution: Once abundant in the Great Lake drainage; in the Red River, <br />Saskatchewan River and southern Hudson Bay tributaries of Canada; and west of the <br />Appalachian Mountains to the Tennessee River of Alabama, to Missouri, to eastern <br />Nebraska, to northern Kansas . <br />Status: Very uncommon. <br />Estimated numbers: U . S . Annual catch from Great Lakes varies from 1, 000 to 3, 000 <br />pounds. <br />Fecundity: Sturgeon spawn in shallow waters of lakes and streams . The number of eggs <br />varies greatly with the size of the fish--egg counts range from 49,835 to 667,472 for fish <br />from 11 to lI2 pounds, respectively. Sturgeon reach maturity at about 20 years and <br />females do not spawn every year . <br />Reasons for decline: Although early fishermen took large numbers of sturgeon for sale, <br />great numbers were also caught and destroyed because they damaged gear fished for <br />other species. They were easy to catch, and as a consequence of their slow growth and <br />late maturity they were reduced to insignificance . <br />Protective measures already taken: Lake sturgeon are completely protected in some <br />areas and partly protected in others by size limits that permit them to reach maturity. <br />Their numbers seem to have increased under protection . <br />Measures proposed: The protection of lake sturgeon should be reviewed periodically <br />to make certain that it is adequate in various sections of its range, and should be <br />uniform in the same waters where more than one regulatory agency is involved. <br />Number in captivity: No data . <br />Culture potential in captivity: Have been hatched and raised for a short period in <br />hatcheries . <br />