(Galbreath1985, Pitman^11 , Graham1996).Small Habitatmodifications tobenefitsturgeonhave
fisheries remain for lake Acipenser fulvescens, rarely beenimplemented. Theelimination ofdaily
greenAcipenser medirostris,AtlanticAcipenser ox- dischargefluctuation for hydroelectric power gen-
yrinchusoxyrinchus,and shovelnoseScaphirhyn- eration at a dam inMichigan hasincreased spawn-
chus platorynchus sturgeons (Smith et al. 1984, Foltz ing activity oflakesturgeon(Auer1996).Effects of
& Meyers1985,Thuemler1985,Olver1957,Smith experimental releases of water from aMontana res-
1990,Michalenko et al.1991).Fishing forshortnose ervoir on spawningsuccess ofwhitesturgeon are
Acipenser brevirostrum,pallidScaphirhynchus al- currentlybeingtested(Marcuson^15 ). Dredge andfill
bus,and gulfAcipenseroxyrinchus desotoistur- operations have been modified or curtailed in
geons hasbeencurtailed bytheirfederally-recog- spawningareas of lakesturgeon in the St. Lawrence
nized status asendangered or threatenedspecies. River(Dumont et al.1987).Successfulsite-specific
Alabama sturgeonScaphirhynchussuttkusiare rare habitatalterationshave improved spawning bylake
and not subject to harvest. sturgeon in severalareaswhererocksubstrate was
Culture of NorthAmericasturgeoncurrently re- limiting andintroduced tostabilizeshoreline (Folz
lies on thecapture ofwildbroodstockwhich are &Meyers1985) or toincreasecurrentvelocity (Ro-
stimulated tospawnusinghormones,although cap- chard et al.1990.LaHaye et al.1992). A fishelevator
tivebroodstock are being developed for several wasoperatedsporadicallyfrom1938–1969 to lift
species (Smith 1990). Artificialspawning has been whitesturgeonpastBonneville Dam on the Colum-
documented for Atlantic, shortnose,pallid, lake, bia River (Warren &Beckman^16 ).
and white sturgeons, and forpaddlefish(Conte et Thebroad habitatneeds ofsturgeonsuggestthat
al.^2 , Smith1990).Success ofseveralexperimental only large-scale, system-wide habitatprotection
releases oflakesturgeon,shortnosesturgeon, and andimprovemcntprograms can be expected to pro-
paddlefish iscurrently being evaluated(Graham^12 , videsignificantbenefits forthose populationsthat
Anderson1987,Pitman^11 , Smith&Jenkins1991, La- are depleted or threatened byhabitatalteration.
Pan et al.l3, Graham1996).Stocking programs for Except inrarecases,sitespecificchanges can be ex-
whitesturgeonhave been restricted to releaseof pected to havelittle effect.Options forproducing
smallnumbers ofjuveniles in the Sacramento. system-widechanges tobenefitsturgeon arelimit-
Snake, andWillametterivers aspartialmitigration edbecausetheyinvolve complex issues ofwater di-
fromprivate hatcheryoperators for use ofwild version, landuse, andhydropowersystemdevelop-
broodstock. Anexperimental hatchery program is ment oroperationwhoseimplementation is con-
also beingdeveloped tosupplementwhitesturgeon strained by economic andsocialconsiderations.
in the Kootenai Riverwhich flowsthroughBritish Our surveydemonstratedthatwhileseveral al-
Columbia, Idaho. and Montana (Apperson & Wak- ternatives may be identified,effectiveoptions are
kinen 1992,Kincaid14). limited. Managers have had torely onharvest man-
agement and aquaculture because system-wide
11
lization andmanagement inTexas. TexasParks andWildlife De- havebeenextremelydifficult toimplement.These
partment.Austin. 70 pp. measures haveeffectivelymaintained populations
souri.^12 Graham,FinalRep.,L.K. 1986.D.J.Proj. FReintroduction of- 1 - R-35, StudylakeS–25.sturgeon in MisMissouriDep.- and providedfisherybenefits wherehabitatdegra-
Conserv.,Columbia. 11 pp. dation is not severe. However, effortswhich do not(^13) Lapan, S.R., A. Schiavone,R.M. Klindt.W.F.Krise,M.N. Di- addresshabitatdegradation have generallyfailed
Lauro & K.Fynn-Aikins.1994. Re-establishment oflake stur-
geon in tributaries of the St. Lawrence River. 1993. Report to the
Lake Ontario Committee. Great Lakes Fishery Commission. 10
14 pp.
Kincaid,H.L.1993.Breedingplan topreserve thegenetic vari-
ability of theKootenaiRiverwhilesturgeon.BonnevillePower
Admin.,Portland. 18 pp.
(^15) Marcuson, P.1994. KoolenaiRiver white sturgeoninvestiga-
lionsannual report.BonnevillePowerAdmin.,Portland. 67 pp.
(^16) Warren,J.J. &L.G.Beckman1993. Fishway useby whitestur-
geon tobypassmainstemColumbiaRiver Dams.U.S.Fish Wildl.
Sea GrantExtensionProj.,Col. R. SeriesWSG-AG 93-02. 12 pp.
Pitman, V.M. 1991. Synopsis of paddlefish biology and their uti- habitat protection and enhancement measures