Gulf Sturgeon

The Gulf sturgeon is a subspecies of the Atlantic sturgeon. It is a large fish with an extended snout, vertical mouth, chin barbels, and with the upper lobe of the tail longer than the lower. Adults are 180 to 240 cm (71-95 inches) in length. The adult females are larger than adult males. The skin is scaleless, brown dorsally and pale ventrally and imbedded with 5 rows of bony plates.Adult fish are bottom feeders, eating primarily invertebrates, including brachiopods, insect larvae, mollusks, worms and crustaceans. Gulf sturgeon are anadromous, with reproduction occurring in fresh water. Most adult feeding takes place in the Gulf of Mexico and its estuaries. The fish return to breed in the river system in which they hatched. Spawning occurs in areas of deeper water with clean (rock and rubble) bottoms. Sexual maturity is reached between the ages of 8 and 12 years for females and 7 and 10 years for males.

Historically, the Gulf sturgeon occurred from the Mississippi River to Charlotte Harbor, Florida. It still occurs, at least occasionally, throughout this range, but in greatly reduced numbers. The fish is essentially confined to the Gulf of Mexico.   River systems where the Gulf sturgeon are known to be viable today include the Mississippi, Pearl, Escambia, Yellow, Choctawhatchee, Appachicola, and Swannee Rivers.

 A primary factor for the decline of the Gulf sturgeon is dams.  Three major rivers (the Pearl in Mississippi, the Alabama in Alabama, and the Appalachicola in Florida) within the range of the Gulf sturgeon have been dammed, preventing use of upstream areas for spawning. The Gulf sturgeon are unable to pass through dam and lock systems.  Other structures that prevent the Gulf sturgeon from reaching many spawning areas include dredging, desnagging, and spoil deposition to maintain and improve channels.

Information is from the National Marine Fisheries Service.