Sturgeon Numbers Down By 80%

January 24, 2008

Release from: Hanneke Brooymans
Edmonton Journal (Canada)

EDMONTON - Canada's lake sturgeon, whose Alberta numbers have dwindled dramatically, could soon be on the endangered species list.

Recent federal government ads asked for comments on whether the sturgeon should be protected by legislation. Its numbers in the North and South Saskatchewan River systems have declined as much as 80 per cent, the ads say.

The process could be "very challenging," said Fred Hnytka, a species at risk biologist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

First Nations have a cultural connection with the fish in a number of northern rivers, Hnytka said.

The department wants to work through all issues before it protects the fish under the Species At Risk Act, he added.

The lake sturgeon is a large, bottom-feeding fish with a triangular snout that bears long, hair-like appendages called barbels. The species can live many decades -- the oldest on record survived 154 years.

Lake sturgeon are found in lakes and rivers from Alberta and east to Quebec. In Alberta, they're found at 16 sites in the North Saskatchewan River, down from 48 historically, and at 12 in the South Saskatchewan, down from 30.

Sturgeon were once also found in the Sturgeon River that runs through St. Albert, but that river is now too shallow to support Canada's largest freshwater fish.

In May 2005, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada said in a preliminary recommendation that it should be listed as endangered. Hnytka said the committee sorted through some issues after that, ultimately making its final recommendation for listing last August.

The committee blamed historical over-harvesting and habitat loss from the construction and operation of dams for pushing this ancient species -- which once shared the Earth with dinosaurs -- towards its last days.

Female sturgeon don't spawn until they are in their late teens to early 20s. They spawn about once every five years.

"The species is just so vulnerable, you need to be extra cautious. That's why I would come down in favour of it being listed," said Joe Nelson, a University of Alberta professor emeritus and author of Fishes of Alberta.

Terry Dick, a University of Manitoba zoology professor, said it's a disgrace that the species hasn't been listed.

"It was wiped out in so many areas nearly 100 years ago, and we're still debating it," said Dick, who more than five years wrote the original proposal to list the sturgeon to the Status of Endangered Wildlife committee.

Dick said the government shouldn't be worried about the challenges of dealing with First Nations on the issue and should seek to involve them directly in the recovery plans. Their centuries of experience with the fish means they know the most about it, he said.

"If they're directly involved in the recovery, they are then going to be much more careful in how they utilize the subsistence fishery."