Once abundant in North America's Great Lakes and upper Mississippi River, lake sturgeon populations have plummeted. These freshwater monsters, the continent's largest fish, are extremely long-lived. Scientists determined that a six-and-a-half-foot (two-meter) specimen caught in Canada in 1953 was 152 years old.
Photograph courtesy Zeb Hogan
Map
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Fish
- Diet:
- Omnivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- Males, 55 years; females, 150 years
- Size:
- 6.5 ft (2 m)
- Weight:
- Up to 200 lbs (90 kg)
- Did you know?
- The lake sturgeon is often called a "living fossil," part of a family of fish that has existed for more than 135 million years.
- Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:
-
The lake sturgeon, with its sleek shape and rows of bony plates on its sides, looks a bit like an armored torpedo. These freshwater giants have greenish-grey coloring and a pointed snout with two pairs of whiskerlike tactile organs that dangle near its mouth. These organs, called barbels, help it to locate bottom-dwelling prey, such as snails, clams, insect larvae, and fish eggs.
Lake sturgeons can be huge, topping six feet (two meters) long and weighing nearly 200 pounds (90 kilograms). They are also extremely long-lived. Males may live some 55 years, and females can reach 150.
Despite their name, lake sturgeons are also found in rivers, but they avoid salt water. These fish were once a major part of North America's Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and Mississippi River ecosystems and occurred from Canada to Alabama. But intense fishing has exacted a heavy toll on their populations.
These fish were once killed as a nuisance bycatch because they damaged fishing gear. When their meat and eggs became prized, commercial fishermen targeted them. Between 1879 and 1900, the Great Lakes commercial sturgeon fishery brought in an average of 4 million pounds (1.8 metric tons) per year.
Such unsustainable catch rates were coupled with environmental challenges such as pollution and the construction of dams and other flood control measures. Sturgeons, which return each spring to spawn in the streams and rivers in which they were born, found tributaries blocked and spawning shoals destroyed by silt from agriculture and lumbering.
The 20th century saw drastic drops in sturgeon catches, increased regulations, and the closure of viable fisheries. Currently 19 of the 20 states within the fish's original U.S. range list it as either threatened or endangered.
In recent years, however, the great fish has made something of a comeback. Strong efforts at righting environmental wrongs in the Great Lakes have improved conditions, and concentrated efforts to protect the fish have turned sturgeon into a spotlight species.
Photo Galleries
Freshwater Heroes
Freshwater News
- Blog: How to Fix the Colorado River?
- Blog: Texas Moves to Save Critical Groundwater
- Reclaimed Wastewater for Drinking
- Fate of the Mighty Mississippi
- Blog: "Sewer Mining" Recycles Waste Water
- Cajun Crayfish Invading Africa
- 8 Rivers Run Dry from Overuse
- Video: Dramatic Dam Removal Explained
- Blog: The Water Costs of the Choices We Make
- Melting Glaciers Mean Less Water
- Africa Must Adapt to Drought
- Visualizing Our Global Water Footprint
- Real Christmas Trees Save Water
- Blog: Fate of Mekong Hangs in Balance
- Blog: Australia's Bold Plan to Save a Dying River
- Dams and Climate Change
- India Targets Ganges Pollution
- Blog: Keystone XL, Clean Water, and Democracy
- 13 Scariest Freshwater Animals
- Spectacular Time Lapse Dam "Removal"
- Climate Change Halves Mayfly Lives
- Salmon Fishers Fight Proposed Mine
- Bulldozers Tear Into Big Washington Dams
- Will Tar Sands Pipeline Threaten Groundwater?
- Blog: Fire and Rain
Your Water IQ
Environment Photos
Why Care About Water?
The National Geographic Society’s freshwater initiative is a multi-year global effort to inspire and empower individuals and communities to conserve freshwater and the extraordinary diversity of life that rivers, lakes, and wetlands sustain.
Freshwater Advocates
-
Sandra Postel
Sandra is a leading authority on international freshwater issues and is spearheading our global freshwater initiative.
-
Shannon Switzer
Shannon Switzer is an inspring young photographer and conservationist.
-
Zeb Hogan
Zeb travels to the most endangered freshwater ecosystems striving to save critically endangered fish.
Advertisement
Green Living Hot Topics
-
How to Fix the Colorado River?
Several government agencies are working together to restore the West's vital lifeline.
-
Texas Moves to Save Critical Groundwater
Ogallala Aquifer has dropped as much as 150 feet.
-
"Sewer Mining" Recycles Waste Water
A golf course in dry Australia shows how water can be reclaimed efficiently.
Freshwater Advocates
-
What is Your Water Footprint?
Find out with our footprint calculator, then pledge to cut it!
-
The Hidden Water We Use
Find out how much water it really takes to support your lifestyle.
-
Take Action
Help lower your global water footprint and conserve water. Learn what you can do to help.
Special Ad Section
The World's Water
-
Amazon Headwaters
Help protect this watershed—for the species that live there and the livelihoods that depend on it.
-
Cambodia's Crocodiles
Help give the endangered Siamese croc a fighting chance by combating hunting and habitat loss.
Test Your Water IQ
-
Photos: In the Field
Browse breathtaking images of life on the Serengeti.
-
A Thing or Two About Twins
Can the unique bond between identical twins be explained?
