Sturgeon decline in NS River studied

[NSRfishing]

Though the number of sturgeon might seem large, very few of the 1,700 sturgeon are old enough to reproduce. Because a sturgeon can live up to 154 years, the fish takes a long time to reach sexual maturity, with a female taking about 25 years. Out of the 1,700 sturgeon in the river, the oldest that the research team has been able to find has been 64 years old, meaning that there are likely to be only eight spawning female fish.

Through his research, which has been taking place between Drayton Valley and the Onion Lake bridge on the Saskatchewan Border, Watkins has been testing three theories on the decline of sturgeon populations: that the fish are recovering from low oxygen levels that existed prior to the 1960s before Edmonton began treating its sewage; that the sturgeon use the river only seasonally to spawn and then leave; and thirdly, that the population is being overfished.



http://www.newsoptimist.ca/article/20111122/BATTLEFORD0101/311229998/-1/battleford/sturgeon-decline-in-ns-river-studied



only 1,700 and eight spawning females?

[steve]

We catch alot of sturgeon every year. Only half are tagged.

"Only use the river seasonally" ... Where do they go?

"Population being over fished" its C&R.... They are a hardy fish, being caught on single barbless hooks. There worst enemy is pickerel rigs.

Sounds like a joke to me.

[LongDraw]

"The team does not yet have its final findings, but its research will be presented to the Alberta provincial government in order to create a recovery plan and to help manage the North Saskatchewan River for sturgeon and all river fish"

There has to be a problem in order to create a recovery plan. This equates to more grant money and more studies to find more problems..

[fishzilla]

Talk to the guys on fishingsaskatchewan.ca they'll tell you the sturgeon are making a solid comeback. I've never fished them myself but i've heard you can hardly keep them off your hook around Prince Albert SK. Maybe the population gets stronger the further downstream you go not sure but, hard to believe only 7 breeding females in that huge river.

[Dale S]

Are those reports open to the puplic. I asked the bio. if the info there gathering on the South Sask. River study is puplic,she said it is not.

[jrs]

A lot of fishery info cannot go public as it contains sensitive information such as which holes fish may live in, migration times for certain species, etc which make sport fisherman more succesful. This sturgeon research is pretty interesting, the way the data adds up indicates it may be a recovering population (lots of recruitment) which is really encouraging news. I do wonder if it will be used to justify bait bans in the near future, time will tell.

[WayneChristie]

who counted 1700 fish in the whole river? did they drain it for the count? if they are going to use that number to keep them C and R Im all for it, but I dont think anyone knows how many sturgeon there are in any waterbody, maybe a rough (very rough) estimate, but no way thats the actual figure.

[BGSH]

I would have to agree with the 1700 Sturgeon numbers

[WayneChristie]

A lot of fishery info cannot go public as it contains sensitive information such as which holes fish may live in, migration times for certain species, etc which make sport fisherman more succesful. This sturgeon research is pretty interesting, the way the data adds up indicates it may be a recovering population (lots of recruitment) which is really encouraging news. I do wonder if it will be used to justify bait bans in the near future, time will tell.

Im new to sturgeon fishing, but I already know a lot of holes they hang out in, in my area anyways. I know when they migrate up this way also. Knowing they are there doesnt make them any easier to catch. I did catch some very young fish this summer, so they are definitely reproducing in the Bow/SSR. I dont know how long it takes one to grow to a foot or so long, but Ive caught a couple that size and seen pictures of other ones as well. or maybe according to the researchers thinking, its just the same fish and he likes to travel a lot :bad_boys_20:

[WayneChristie]

I would have to agree with the 1700 Sturgeon numbers

what do you base this on? just curious

[jrs]

You can actually get some pretty good fish estimates using mark/ recapture. Consider unlike animals they are contained within a river and fish like sturgeon can retain a tag for a lot of years (theres still immigration and emigration but you get the idea). Its not an exact value, just an estimate, its the best you can do without draining a river. And though you may catch a few WayneChristie, there will be other holes (some likely in remote areas) that may not be heavily pressured and are likely not shared much by the local fisherman. I know of a few streams up north missing data in the public data base due to containing remarkable concentrations of fish, i think excluding this info is wise for many reasons. The internet itself has changed the way fisheries data is handled, even catch and release pressure can have an impact if enough guys get on the same area. Im actually pretty sure some sturgeon data was removed from the public database for these same reasons (it was available at one time) on certain stretches of river in Alberta.

[WayneChristie]

I can definitely agree with the internet being responsible for fish decline in some areas, news gets around fast when a lake is hot, and some dont take extra pressure very well (Clear Lake for one) If there are more sturgeon out there than we know about, great! :sHa_shakeshout: and if people have to work just that much harder to find them, I dont think thats a bad thing either.

[BeeGuy]

Though the number of sturgeon might seem large, very few of the 1,700 sturgeon are old enough to reproduce. Because a sturgeon can live up to 154 years, the fish takes a long time to reach sexual maturity, with a female taking about 25 years. Out of the 1,700 sturgeon in the river, the oldest that the research team has been able to find has been 64 years old, meaning that there are likely to be only eight spawning female fish.

Through his research, which has been taking place between Drayton Valley and the Onion Lake bridge on the Saskatchewan Border, Watkins has been testing three theories on the decline of sturgeon populations: that the fish are recovering from low oxygen levels that existed prior to the 1960s before Edmonton began treating its sewage; that the sturgeon use the river only seasonally to spawn and then leave; and thirdly, that the population is being overfished.



http://www.newsoptimist.ca/article/20111122/BATTLEFORD0101/311229998/-1/battleford/sturgeon-decline-in-ns-river-studied



only 1,700 and eight spawning females?


I think there is a misunderstanding here.

Only 8 mature females are spawning in any given year.

This could mean there are several times more mature females than that, however they do not spawn every year. I could be wrong.

In the article, he states that 5% of the population of 1700 are mature

0.05x1700= 85

If 50% of the population is female, that makes 40-45 mature females, not 8.

[jrs]

I think there is a misunderstanding here.

Only 8 mature females are spawning in any given year.

This could mean there are several times more mature females than that, however they do not spawn every year. I could be wrong.

In the article, he states that 5% of the population of 1700 are mature

0.05x1700= 85

If 50% of the population is female, that makes 40-45 mature females, not 8.

Thats how id interpret it as well.

[walking buffalo]

Remember the Grizzly Bear....

[BGSH]

Remember the Grizzly Bear....

Remember Grizzly Bears do not live in the NSR and face floods, low water, temps play a huge factor as well, think of how many sturgeon eggs get eating or washed away every spawning season for the mature spawning pairs, for sure numbers are obviously lower then they should be, but a lot of this is due to nature not humans for the sturgeon.

[BeeGuy]

As far as I know there are 2 primary causes for the decline of several species of sturgeon in Canada.

These are over-harvest and the damming of rivers. Damming rivers interrupts sturgeons seasonal movements in rivers and affects spawning.

The primarily culprit in my opinion is over-harvest.

Sturgeon take decades to mature sexually. Once the primary reproductive fish are removed from the system, it takes decades to replace these individuals. This situation is worsened by the harvest of sexually immature fish. Once we finally end the harvest, there are even fewer sexually immature fish with which to replace the absent mature fish.

Sturgeon recovery is a long road.

Here are some links about the status of sturgeon in Canada and the reasons for concern:

Lake Sturgeon status (http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct1/searchdetail_e.cfm?id=841&StartRow=41&boxStatus=All&boxTaxonomic=All&location=All&change=All&board=10&commonName=&scienceName=&returnFlag=0&Page=5)

Lake sturgeon pg 95 (http://myweb.dal.ca/jhutch/research/COSEWICreport.pdf)



I think as a correction to a previous post, some of the 8 recognized populations of Lake sturgeon have been classified as endangered as of 2007, these are:

Western Hudson Bay populations
Saskatchewan River populations- designated endangered in 2006
Nelson River populations
Winnipeg River - English River populations
Red-Assiniboine Rivers - Lake Winnipeg populations

Kinda strange that we have about a half-dozen threads right now crying for more data collection in fisheries, and that people here are suggesting that the work by a graduate student in partnership with SRD is essentially over-kill.

[WayneChristie]

is there a definite way to differentiate between males and females?

[BGSH]

is there a definite way to differentiate between males and females?

Males got a shlong females dont :sHa_sarcasticlol::sHa_sarcasticlol:

[aulrich]

As far as I know there are 2 primary causes for the decline of several species of sturgeon in Canada.

These are over-harvest and the damming of rivers. Damming rivers interrupts sturgeons seasonal movements in rivers and affects spawning.

The primarily culprit in my opinion is over-harvest.

Sturgeon take decades to mature sexually. Once the primary reproductive fish are removed from the system, it takes decades to replace these individuals. This situation is worsened by the harvest of sexually immature fish. Once we finally end the harvest, there are even fewer sexually immature fish with which to replace the absent mature fish.

Sturgeon recovery is a long road.

Here are some links about the status of sturgeon in Canada and the reasons for concern:

Lake Sturgeon status (http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct1/searchdetail_e.cfm?id=841&StartRow=41&boxStatus=All&boxTaxonomic=All&location=All&change=All&board=10&commonName=&scienceName=&returnFlag=0&Page=5)

Lake sturgeon pg 95 (http://myweb.dal.ca/jhutch/research/COSEWICreport.pdf)



I think as a correction to a previous post, some of the 8 recognized populations of Lake sturgeon have been classified as endangered as of 2007, these are:

Western Hudson Bay populations
Saskatchewan River populations- designated endangered in 2006
Nelson River populations
Winnipeg River - English River populations
Red-Assiniboine Rivers - Lake Winnipeg populations

Kinda strange that we have about a half-dozen threads right now crying for more data collection in fisheries, and that people here are suggesting that the work by a graduate student in partnership with SRD is essentially over-kill.

I can't speak to the other populations but by 2007 the winnipeg river populations were showing solid signs of recovery, (numerous 50+ inchers caught by family and friends), I left Manitoba in 91 and it had been a few years since sturgeon went C&R and the closure was because of over harvest at the time the main reason for the full closure was rumord to stop a local band from neting truckoads of them.

Even at the low point if you wanted to catch a sturgen you could, but not anything like now. I do want more study but when they come up with 3 breeding females in a system it just seems they should have spent more time in math class.

[BeeGuy]

I can't speak to the other populations but by 2007 the winnipeg river populations were showing solid signs of recovery, (numerous 50+ inchers caught by family and friends), I left Manitoba in 91 and it had been a few years since sturgeon went C&R and the closure was because of over harvest at the time the main reason for the full closure was rumord to stop a local band from neting truckoads of them.

Even at the low point if you wanted to catch a sturgen you could, but not anything like now. I do want more study but when they come up with 3 breeding females in a system it just seems they should have spent more time in math class.

Where was it stated that the was only 3 breeding females?

[BeeGuy]

As far as I know the info provided in the article was paraphrased from the researchers and is not yet published in a scientific journal.

I'm accustomed to briefing the media about my own bio-research, and I can tell you with chronic disappointment, that they rarely get it right. Even when I require that I proof read the piece before it goes to press, the info is still distorted.

Sad but true.

[aulrich]

Opps my bad, not 3 but 8 as stated in the article.

[BGSH]

bottom line is sturgeon here in Alberta are endangered and should be handled with care when caught, take a couple pics and off she goes, sturgeon are very hardy fish though, hopefully one day there numbers will be healthy and back up on the rise


Shawn

[BeeGuy]

bottom line is sturgeon here in Alberta are endangered and should be handled with care when caught, take a couple pics and off she goes, sturgeon are very hardy fish though, hopefully one day there numbers will be healthy and back up on the rise


Shawn

Absolutely!!

With further studies, rehabilitation efforts and fishermen education the sturgeon should be on their way to a sustainable recovery and exciting big game C&R fishery.

Can't wait to circle hook my first albertan sturgeon!!

[aulrich]

One of the things I wonder about is if along with migration issues that dams cause, that the flood control will stop the natual scouring of deep channels and holes,giving invisible habitat loss.

[BGSH]

Absolutely!!

With further studies, rehabilitation efforts and fishermen education the sturgeon should be on their way to a sustainable recovery and exciting big game C&R fishery.

Can't wait to circle hook my first albertan sturgeon!!

Get this, back in 09 i lost 2 sturgeon in 2 casts of each other and they spooled me, it sucked but i use 6-8 pound mono, and was not fishing for sturgeon at the time, it was amazing to see the line on the reel zinging out fast, went towards the other side then SNAP, i may try for them this year, i hope BBJ can hook me into a couple next year.

[BeeGuy]

Get this, back in 09 i lost 2 sturgeon in 2 casts of each other and they spooled me, it sucked but i use 6-8 pound mono, and was not fishing for sturgeon at the time, it was amazing to see the line on the reel zinging out fast, went towards the other side then SNAP, i may try for them this year, i hope BBJ can hook me into a couple next year.

Crazy. I had a similar issue this year while targeting trout and walleye in BC and hooking into 2, 4-5 footers. I was way under-geared and one straightened a hook while the other broke my 15lb fireline on it's back scales.

I now have a med-heavy bait cast set-up which I'll run a 30lb braid mainline with a heavier 5' lead. Should be fine for the beasts in the Saskatchewans.

[BGSH]

Crazy. I had a similar issue this year while targeting trout and walleye in BC and hooking into 2, 4-5 footers. I was way under-geared and one straightened a hook while the other broke my 15lb fireline on it's back scales.

I now have a med-heavy bait cast set-up which I'll run a 30lb braid mainline with a heavier 5' lead. Should be fine for the beasts in the Saskatchewans.

wow, that sounds like a rush, only one problem, when i fish for walleye and pike i do not like to use 30 pound braid, i still use 8 pound mono, but you are right though, if targeting sturgeon i would use 30 pound braided line for sure.

[WayneChristie]

Anyone have an idea how old a sturgeon this size would be? My first, all uphill from there :sHa_shakeshout: probably about 14 or 15 inches long caught at the Forks this summer.

http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy156/rollinghillbilly/first%20sturgeon/DSCF2756.jpg

and Id guess my second one from the same spot the same day would be a different year class, it was about 24 inches

http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy156/rollinghillbilly/first%20sturgeon/DSCF2776.jpg

[Smokey]

I once found a minnow sturgeon on the bank of the North Sask, I picked er up, and yelled at my cousin to come over. He said get that thing in the water now, grabbed it and tried to get it to swim away.

Ive learned since then, its best not to target them. The thrill to catch one ain`t worth the risk of loosing what we got, which is not that much.:snapoutofit:

[BeeGuy]

Hey Wayne,

You should find this info pretty useful. The SSR and NSR fish are likely to vary a bit from this data, but it should be correct more or less.

Lake Sturgeon Size-Age-weight (http://www.mi.gov/documents/dnr/StClair_weight_estimation_174130_7.pdf)

[BeeGuy]

The small ones are likely less than 3 years old.

[Dale S]

I once found a minnow sturgeon on the bank of the North Sask, I picked er up, and yelled at my cousin to come over. He said get that thing in the water now, grabbed it and tried to get it to swim away.

Ive learned since then, its best not to target them. The thrill to catch one ain`t worth the risk of loosing what we got, which is not that much.:snapoutofit:

You must not fish in the river then. Every time you baitfish in the river you target them along with walleye,sauger,pike and the elusive sucker.

[WayneChristie]

Hey Wayne,

You should find this info pretty useful. The SSR and NSR fish are likely to vary a bit from this data, but it should be correct more or less.

Lake Sturgeon Size-Age-weight (http://www.mi.gov/documents/dnr/StClair_weight_estimation_174130_7.pdf)

good chart, thanks. from what I see the NSR ones the same length as ours seem to be heavier, or maybe they stopped growing lengthwise so much and started filling out. more nastys for them to eat in there too :scared0018:

[WayneChristie]

I once found a minnow sturgeon on the bank of the North Sask, I picked er up, and yelled at my cousin to come over. He said get that thing in the water now, grabbed it and tried to get it to swim away.

Ive learned since then, its best not to target them. The thrill to catch one ain`t worth the risk of loosing what we got, which is not that much.:snapoutofit:

sure it wasnt a stickleback? I dont know, Ive never seen a sturgeon minnow. sticklebacks I have seen plenty, found one last weekend that had been on the ice in pretty much zero water for 24 hours, and it swam away no problem when I put it back. thats tough!

[BGSH]

I would think your sturgeon would be 3-7 years old. would be cool to catch such a small sturgeon like that then 50 years down the road thinking he could still be alive.

[WayneChristie]

I would think your sturgeon would be 3-7 years old. would be cool to catch such a small sturgeon like that then 50 years down the road thinking he could still be alive.

never thought of it that way, that fish will be peeing in the river long after Im gone, maybe my grandkids :scared0018: can catch the same ones.

[BGSH]

never thought of it that way, that fish will be peeing in the river long after Im gone, maybe my grandkids :scared0018: can catch the same ones.

Yea it is cool to think of it like that, because Sturgeon can live 175 years, so that is why we should handle them with due care.

[BeeGuy]

Yea it is cool to think of it like that, because Sturgeon can live 175 years, so that is why we should handle them with due care.

A good reason for fishing guidelines/education with respect to sturgeon inhabited waters.

Imagine being gut hooked for a few decades?

[BGSH]

A good reason for fishing guidelines/education with respect to sturgeon inhabited waters.

Imagine being gut hooked for a few decades?

i have to laugh, but yea honestly it would suck, yea and being a sturgeon they are a very tough species of fish meaning when they get hooked and hooked and hooked again time after time, there mouth would probably start getting sore, that is why i very rarely bait fish.

[greylynx]

Has anyone e-mailed the student at the U of A?

[BeeGuy]

Has anyone e-mailed the student at the U of A?

Good point, I looked it up yesterday but could only find an empty profile on the UoA website.

It would be great to hear from the experts.

[greylynx]

I think this is not a serious study, but a half hatched sampling that is quite common with SRD.

Stuff like this is used to feed the media, that "something" is being done to protect the public's resources.

[BGSH]

I think this is not a serious study, but a half hatched sampling that is quite common with SRD.

Stuff like this is used to feed the media, that "something" is being done to protect the public's resources.

You cannot really do anything to really protect the sturgeon, if someone really wants to keep one, what is stopping them?? the only thing that could be done is ban fishing in highly populated areas that hold good numbers of Sturgeon, other then that it is up to you and me to look out for this beauty.

[Kim473]

Decline?? I have heard of twice as many sturgen caught in the last year than in the previous 5 years. Does this not mean that the populations are increasing?

[pikehunter1989]

Decline?? I have heard of twice as many sturgen caught in the last year than in the previous 5 years. Does this not mean that the populations are increasing?

I think the large amount of sturgeon caught were due to the high water levels. They like deep holes and they dont move a whole lot from those holes...so I think with high waters they were moving around a bit more than usual. I could be wrong but there did seem to be alot more being caught this year... He'll even I caught 2 this year.:bad_boys_20:

[Dale S]

BGSH why do you even suggest closing more fishing down.The SRD dose not have a clue of the number of fish in the river systems.I know in the S.S.R. I've never seen so many sturgeon caught in the last few years.70 years ago they use to gill net the river and keep every thing.Maybe thats why the oldest fish they tag was 63 years old.Leave the rules alone and stop the pouching would sure help.

[BGSH]

BGSH why do you even suggest closing more fishing down.The SRD dose not have a clue of the number of fish in the river systems.I know in the S.S.R. I've never seen so many sturgeon caught in the last few years.70 years ago they use to gill net the river and keep every thing.Maybe thats why the oldest fish they tag was 63 years old.Leave the rules alone and stop the pouching would sure help.

Not close down fishing, just certain areas where sturgeon hang out, just a suggestion that is all.

[aulrich]

Sometimes selective closures are effective, I am not sure about river habitat though river fish are far more migratory.

How long has Alberta been c&r for sturgon? I am pretty sure it was at least 10 years before the improvment was noticable. Also poachers with nets are a lot easier to see on a busy lake that a river.

[BeeGuy]

I think this is not a serious study, but a half hatched sampling that is quite common with SRD.

Stuff like this is used to feed the media, that "something" is being done to protect the public's resources.

What are you basing this on?