Sturgeon fish8/18/2023 The American Fisheries Society has listed the lake sturgeon as threatened in all the states where it occurs. Lawrence River, Niagara River, Oswegatchie River, Grasse River, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Champlain, Cayuga Lake, and in the Seneca and Cayuga canals. In New York, lake sturgeon have been collected in St. In the United States, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia all have lake sturgeon populations. The lake sturgeon is found primarily in freshwater lakes and large rivers in northeastern North America, but also occurs in the brackish waters of Hudson Bay and the St. They eat leeches, snails, clams, other invertebrates, small fish, and even algae. They use their barbels to locate food, then suck it into their mouths. In 1953, a 154 year old lake sturgeon was caught in Lake of the Woods, Canada. Male lake sturgeon reach sexual maturity at 8-19 years old and can live to 55 years of age. Female lake sturgeon do not reach sexual maturity until 14-23 years old and may live up to 80 years. The lake sturgeon is one of the longest-lived and slowest to mature freshwater fish species. A mature female lake sturgeon may lay from 100,000-800,000 eggs during a single spawning season. Young hatch out in 5-8 days and grow rapidly, reaching 7.5 inches by the end of the first growing season. The eggs are scattered by currents and stick to rocks and logs. At this time, the sturgeon may perform "staging" displays that include rolling near the bottom then leaping out of the water to fall with a loud splash.Īctual spawning takes place in areas of clean, large rubble such as along windswept rocky shores of islands and in rapids in streams. Prior to spawning, adult sturgeon form groups in deep holes near the spawning site. Lake sturgeon spawn in the spring from May-June. The top and side bony plates (called scutes) are the same color as the dull grey body and the peritoneum (body cavity lining) is black. The peduncle (part of the body between dorsal and caudal fins) is short. The anal (bottom rear) fin is not opposite the dorsal (back) fin, but rather it is closer to the caudal (tail) fin. Its mouth is large and there are two smooth lobes on the lower lip. The lake sturgeon has a sharp, cone-shaped snout with four smooth barbels on its underside. Primitive in appearance, the lake sturgeon has a torpedo-shaped body that is covered with five rows of bony plates: one on top and two rows along each side. Mature adults average between 3-5 feet in length and 10-80 pounds in weight, but can occasionally grow as large as 7+ feet and 300+ pounds. The lake sturgeon is one of New York's largest freshwater fish.
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