What do sturgeon fish eat

DIET: Lake sturgeon are omnivorous and eat by sucking up food with their mouths. They usually locate their food with the aid of their sensitive barbels, which they drag over river and lake bottoms.

Lake sturgeon spawn in their natal rivers and prefer rocky areas in freshwater tributaries, usually along the outside bend of rivers as suitable spawning habitat. Poaching and commercial overharvesting have decimated all of the sturgeon populations throughout the world because of the high demand for their caviar. Some species of sturgeon have developed into only freshwater fish. This is generally due to habitat loss and the impoundment of their native rivers.

Dams have made the large-scale migration of sturgeon impossible in some of their native habitat. Some sturgeon, like the lake sturgeon, found in the Great Lakes region, have evolved to solely live in freshwater, using large lake systems to migrate and propagate. However, lake sturgeon, and other species of sturgeon have certain traits that make their come back more difficult.

Sturgeon mature relatively slowly, it takes years for an individual to reach spawning age. Their spawning cycles can also be easily interrupted by many environmental or manmade factors. This means that some years, there may be zero spawning activity. Due to these factors, sturgeon are also highly susceptible to impacts from pollution, loss of food sources and certain invasive species. These fish appear to be particularly affected by climate change.

For this article we will focus on fishing for white and lake sturgeon. Despite their name, lake sturgeon frequent rivers that connect lake chains, but they live only in freshwater, and generally do not venture to brackish water. White sturgeon behave as one would generally think, they inhabit coastal areas and estuaries. They return to the river where they were spawned to reproduce themselves. There are a group of white sturgeon that are completely landlocked and have evolved into a strictly freshwater fish.

These fish are generally the largest fish in any freshwater system. They can reach lengths of 20 feet and weigh several hundred pounds. They are also extremely long-lived fish, surviving years or more. Sturgeon are classic bottom feeders, I would compare them to a channel catfish, based on their feeding behavior.

Their mouth is like a vacuum, sucking food in whole. Sturgeon have no teeth to hold on to prey, so most of their diet is relatively immobile food or dead aquatics.

Some sturgeon eat fish eggs and other small fish; some of the larger specimens eat larger whole fish and crustaceans including salmon, flounder, herring, crabs and mussels. Sturgeon do not feed based on sight, so flashy lures do nothing to attract them. They feed based on feel and smell, much like a channel catfish. Generally, when sturgeon feed in rivers, they take advantage of the rivers current to bring food to them.

This means they position themselves facing into strong current in the river. Prime locations for feeding fish are at the head of deep holes in the main river channel, especially down from dams. We will mostly discuss fishing for sturgeon in river systems, these fish are easier to find and pattern; this makes these fish more catchable. There are many factors that affect the activity level of sturgeon.

Dam generation, time of year, weather, and water temperature are all things that will affect how fish will feed and where they will be located. These behaviours may be feeding strategies or just playfulness. Lake Sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens are descendants of a prehistoric fish, and look much the same as fossils from the Upper Cretaceous Period million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

The age of a sturgeon cannot be determined externally. Much like a tree, you can tell how old it is by counting the growth rings on the bones of its pectoral fins. Back to top How they look From their prehistoric days, sturgeon have an outer armour of bony plates, a skeleton made of cartilage, and a shark-like tail.

Scutes have little hooked spurs that make the young sturgeon hard-to-swallow and unappealing, protecting them from predators like walleye and pike. Young sturgeon often have black blotches on their sides, back, and snout to help them camouflage with the lake or river bottom. These blotches will lighten or disappear when they are about 60 cm long — too large for most natural predators.

Adult Lake Sturgeon vary in colour from olive-brown to slate grey with a milky white belly. Back to top How they eat Sturgeon are benthic, or bottom-dwelling, fish.

They have no teeth. When they find food, they extend their tube-like mouths and quickly suck in. Firmly clamping its prey in its jaw, the sturgeon then sucks in some water to strain out any silt or sand through its gills. Sturgeon generally live in deep lakes or river habitats were it is dark and murky. Head In China and Russia, the head is used to make fish stock and soup. Internal Organs The liver and soft roe are extremely delicious and the other offal are perfect for cooking together and served with sake.

Sashimi photograph cooperation: Nagaizumi Sanso. Jellied fish photograph cooperation: Nagaizumi Sanso. Sturgeon pickled in basil oil and Kyoto-style miso. The Charm of Caviar Fish.