White Sturgeon (Pacific Sturgeon) Acipenser transmontanus

White Sturgeon (Pacific Sturgeon) Acipenser transmontanus

            The largest North American Sturgeon at a maximum of 20 feet its greatest depth is about 14% of the total length. Its eyes are small and the snout of an adult is short and compressed with a wide toothless mouth. Instead of scales the sturgeon is covered with isolated rows of large bony plates. A lighter grey, pale olive, or grey-brown often speckled with white moving to grey or white on the belly characterize the colouring. Found on the Pacific shores of North America near most coastal drainages including the Fraser River system, Stuart Lakes, Taku Lakes, Kooteny Lake and river, Columbia River, Duncan Lake, And Vancouver Island. Although it is land locked in the upper Columbia River it is anadromous in most other large rivers. Can live over 100 years. The flesh is highly acceptable as food and often the eggs are marketed as caviar. Generally the sturgeon is netted with salmon.