51813_Sturgeon biodioversity an.PDF

(5) Since 1990, declines in sturgeon populations
have occurred due to poaching and overfishing in
the Volga River and Caspian Sea. The number of
juveniles released from hatcheries decreased sharp-
ly because of a worsening economic situation in
.In order to preserve sturgcon stocks in the
northern Caspian Sea, an international agreement

ments on chronic intoxication. Voprosy Ikhtiologii 34: 135–138

(in Russian, English translation J. Ichtliyol. 34: 134–139).

Altufiev, Yu. V., A. A. Romanov & N. N Sheveleva. 1989. On the

histopathology of muscletissue of sonic acipenserids of the

Caspian Sea basin. pp. 4–5.In:Sturgeon Industry in the Waters

of the USSR. Pt. 1. Astrakhan (in Russian).

Altufiev, Yu. V., A. A. Romanov & N. N. Sheveleva. 1992. Histol-

ogy of the straited muscle tisssue and liver in Caspian Sea stur-

geons Voprosy Ikhtiologii 32: 157-171 (in Russian, English

Andreev,V. V., V.N. Kryuchkov & V.A. Grigoriev. 1989. Accu-

mulation of heavy metals in water ecosystems and their influ-

ence or sturgeons. pp. 6–7. In: Sturgeon Industry in the Water

Bodies of the USSR. Pt. I. Astrakhan (in Russian).

Barannikova, I. A. 1995. Measures to maintain sturgeon fisheries

under conditions of escosystem changes. pp. 131 136. In: A. D.

Gershanovich & T. I. J Smith (ed.) Proceedings of the Inter-

national Symposium on Sturgeons. 6–11 September 1993.

Barannikova, I. A,. I. A. Burtsev, A. D. Vlasenko. A. D. Gersha-

novich, E. V. Makarov & M. S. Chebanov. 1995. Sturgeon fish-

eries in Russia. pp. 124–136.In:A. D. Gershanovich & T.I J.

Smith (ed.) Proceedings of the International Symposium on

Sturgeons. 6-11 September 1993, VNIRO Publishing,Mos-

Berg, L. S. 1948 The freshwater fishes of the USSR and adjacent

countries. Vol. 1. Part 1. Akademia Nauk IJSSR. Moscow &

Leningrad (in Russian, English translation published by Israel

Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem. 505 pp.)

Derzhavin, A.N.1922. Stellate sturgeon. A biological essay. Iz-

vestiy a Bakinskoi Ilthtiologicheskoi Laboratorii 1: 1–204 (in

Russian).

Derzhavin, A. N. 1947. Sturgeon stock reproduction. Izdatelstvo

Akademii Nauk Arerbaijanskoi SSR, Baku. 247 pp. (in Rus-

sian),

Dovgopol,G, F., P. V. Vesllchev &T. V. Ozeryanskaya. 1993. Esti-

mation of population size of generations of the stellate stur-

geon,Acipenser stellatus,and the major factors affecting its

population structure. Voprosy Iklitiologii33:93–99 (in Rus-

sian).

Dyuzhikov, A. T. 1960. Stock composition and reproduction of

Russian sturgeon in the Volga River below the Volgograd hy-

droelectric station Trudy Saratovskogo Otdeleniya Gos-

NIORKh 6: 76-116 (in Russian).

Evgeneva, T. P., O. K. Basurmanova & A. B. Shekter. 1989. De-

generative changes in white muscle of the Russian srurgeon

307: 462–466 (in Russian, English translation Doklady Biol.

Sci. 307: 485–489).

Frantsuzov,N.N.1960. The number of spawning Russian stur-

geons in the Volga River populations and regulation of the

Russian sturgeon harvest in the present conditions. Nauchno-

Tekhnicheskii Bulletin GosNIORKh 12: 11–20 (in Russian).

Gapeeva, M. V., O. L. Tselmovich & O. L. Shirokova. 1990.

Heavy metals in acipenserid fishes of the lower Volga River.

pp. 55–61. In: V. I. Lukyanenko (ed.) Physiological-Biochem-

is needed on fishery regulations and control of fish-

ing in the sea. Strict measures against illegal fishing

are urgently needed. It will be necessary to restore

the propagation efforts of hatcheries and improve

the technology for artifial reproduction of stur-

geons.^1

Acknowledgements VNIRO Publishing. Moscow.

We are grateful to Vadim Birstein, John Waldman

and Robert Boyle for inviting one of us (Anatolii

Vlasenko) to present ourpaper at the International

Conference on Sturgeon Biodiversity and Conser- cow.

vation.Wethank Vadim Birstein, Kent Keenlyne.

Todd Georgi and William Bemis for editingour

manuscript to improve the English. William E. Be-

misdrewthe map and figures.

Referencescited

Altufiev, Yu.V.1994. Morphofunctional state of muscle tissue

and liver of Russian sturgeon and beluga juveniles in euperi-

(^1) In 1995, the prospects for the three commercial sturgeon spe-
cies of the Volga River worsened. Only 35 female beluga were
capturedfor artificial breeding at the hatcheries located in the
delta, and only 86 female beluga were legaly taken in the entire
northern area of the Caspian Sea (in the 1960s, about 2000 fe-
male beluga were caught annually in the same region). Practical-
ly all Russian and stellate sturgeons migrating to spawning
grounds below the Volgograd Dam were harvested in 1995 by
poachers, who operated between Astrakhan and Volgograd (see
Figure I). Fewer than five of the sturgeon hatcheries in the Volga
Delta produced juveniles for stocking during 1995, a great de-
crease from the more than 12 hatcheries operated historicaly
Juveniles from the hatcheries were released directly into the Vol-
ga River, where predation losses are high, instead of being re-
lensed directly onto sturgeon feeding grounds in the Caspian
Sea, the preferred method used throughout the 1980s (editor,
note, February 1996).
translation J. Ichthyol. 32: 100-115).
(Acipenser gueldenstaedti). Doklady Akademii Nauk USSR