Showing posts sorted by relevance for query STURGEON. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query STURGEON. Sort by date Show all posts

Friday, December 15, 2023

Sturgeon could SHOULD be listed as endangered species, but Wisconsin’s congressional reps want an exemption. Here’s why.

Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A bipartisan group of Wisconsin's congressional delegation has urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to exempt lake sturgeon in the state from any potential listing under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The agency is conducting a status review of lake sturgeon in the U.S. to determine if listing is warranted; it is scheduled to release its findings by June 30, 2024.

A federal listing under the ESA could prohibit angling for or spearing the fish in Wisconsin. The state hosts annual hook-and-line and spearing seasons for lake sturgeon managed by the Department of Natural Resources.

It a statement issued Dec. 7 the six U.S. representatives and two senators highlighted the robust sturgeon population in Wisconsin, the strong state-based management program as well as the cultural, ecological and economical values of the fish.

"Nowhere in the world will you find such a unique cultural connection and staunch dedication to the preservation of sturgeon population levels than in Wisconsin," the group wrote. "In fact, due to such careful management, populations in the state thrive and allow for a sustainable spear harvest season on the Winnebago System every winter. We are concerned that a potential listing of the species under the Endangered Species Act could curtail this successful, science-based management model as well as threaten a cherished and unique Wisconsin tradition."

Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, whose district includes part of the Winnebago System, led the effort on the statement. It was also signed by Republican Reps. Scott Fitzgerald, Glenn Grothman,, Bryan Steil, Tom Tiffany and Derrick Van Orden as well as Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.

In 2018 the USFWS received a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity requesting the agency list the lake sturgeon range-wide or as several distinct population segments.

The next year the agency concluded the petition presented "substantial scientific or commercial information indicating listing may be warranted" and initiated a status review process, according to a statement from Melissa Clark, USFWS public affairs specialist.

The USFWS is actively engaged in the review and is gathering and referencing the "best scientific and commercial data available, which includes information regarding States’ management practices for lake sturgeon throughout the range of the species," Clark said.

Lake sturgeon are one of the oldest fish species in North America and are native to at least two dozen states in the central, southern and eastern U.S. according to the USFWS. In Wisconsin they are found in Lakes Michigan and Superior as well as the Wisconsin, Chippewa and Flambeau, Wolf and Fox rivers, among others.

The Wisconsin congressional delegation said the importance of the prehistoric fish is rooted in the Menominee Tribe’s strong cultural ties to the lake sturgeon. The tribe includes sturgeon in its creation story and also relied on the fish as a food source.

The species declined over the last century in many parts of its historical range due to pollution, overfishing and loss of access to spawning habitat.

But several populations are exceptions, including the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair in Lake Huron in Michigan, the Rainy River and Lake of the Woods in Minnesota and the Winnebago System in Wisconsin, said Ron Bruch, retired DNR fisheries director and former sturgeon biologist.

After a period of closed seasons in the early 20th Century due to concerns of overharvest, the sturgeon population in the Winnebago System (lakes Butte des Morts, Poygan, Winnebago and Winneconne and the Fox and Wolf rivers) has grown to become one of the largest in the world, Bruch said.

Fisheries staff with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service net a lake sturgeon for processing at Bamboo Bend on the Wolf River in Shiocton. The fish were measured, sexed and had a passive integrated transponder (PIT tag) implanted and then released back to the river.
Fisheries staff with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service net a lake sturgeon for processing at Bamboo Bend on the Wolf River in Shiocton. The fish were measured, sexed and had a passive integrated transponder (PIT tag) implanted and then released back to the river.

More: Outdoors calendar

The DNR establishes a sturgeon population estimate each year using a mark and recapture process. In 2022 the population was estimated at 12,304 adult females and 24,061 adult males, as well as an undetermined number of juvenile fish, according to the DNR sturgeon stock assessment report.

And strict regulations limit the harvest of sturgeon to ensure the health of the population, Bruch said.

"The sturgeon population in the Winnebago System is as large now as any time after settlement times," Bruch said. "It's strong and naturally-reproducing. In no way is it threatened or endangered."

The two-week sturgeon spearing season is responsible for an estimated $3.5 million economic impact and sturgeon conservation is a major part in the over $200 million annual impact fishing brings to the Winnebago System, according to the Wisconsin congressional members.

In 2023 the DNR sold 13,219 sturgeon spearing licenses and 1,405 sturgeon were registered over the 16-day spearing season in February on the Winnebago System.

A hook-and-line sturgeon season is held in fall on many major river systems in the state. Anglers are allowed to keep one fish per year but most fishing is catch-and-release. The statewide harvest of sturgeon during the fall season has averaged 33 fish over the last 15 years, according to the DNR. The hook-and-line season is not held on the Winnebago System.

Money raised from the sale of sturgeon spearing and fishing licenses is used to fund Wisconsin sturgeon management programs.

A representative for the Center for Biological Diversity, the organization that asked for the review, said it's most likely the most imperiled populations – Lake Superior, Missouri River, Ohio River, Arkansan-White River, and lower Mississippi, in their view – would get listed.

"The loss of lake sturgeon has been analogous to the slaughter of the buffalo," said Jeff Miller, senior conservation advocate for CBD. "Now there are only nine populations in entire U.S. with more than 1,000 adult fish."

However, Miller said his group doesn't oppose a DNR-managed harvest season in the Winnebago System.

"We don’t see any problem with the short spear-fishing fishery in the Lake Winnebago System and the Upriver Lakes," Miller said. "It hosts a large population of lake sturgeon, and there are strict regulations and quotas."

But the CBD would like to see added protections for sturgeon in other parts of Wisconsin, including lakes Michigan and Superior and their tributaries as well as the Chippewa River.

Lake sturgeon swim along the rocky shore of the Wolf River at Bamboo Bend in Shiocton. The fish congregate at the site to spawn in spring.
Lake sturgeon swim along the rocky shore of the Wolf River at Bamboo Bend in Shiocton. The fish congregate at the site to spawn in spring.

If lake sturgeon were listed under the ESA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could still allow state fisheries to hold harvest seasons with a fish management plan that is consistent with recovery.

The Wisconsin congressional members asked the Service to to take into "strong consideration the conservation success story of the species in Wisconsin."

"Instead of imposing a nationwide, one-size-fits-all listing that could curtail the state’s management plan and threaten a long-cherished tradition, we ask that Wisconsin lake sturgeon be exempt from any potential ESA listing," they wrote. "Furthermore, we encourage the Service to engage with the Wisconsin DNR, local communities, and other relevant stakeholders to help expand this model to other states and ensure the continued existence of lake sturgeon for generations to come."

The statement by members of Wisconsin's congressional delegation follows an October letter with a similar message signed by 29 members of the state legislature.

A public comment period will be held after the Service issues its findings in June 2024.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lawmakers want Wisconsin sturgeon exempt from endangered species list


Posted by at No comments:

Friday, December 02, 2022

White sturgeon-Columbia River’s largest anadromous fish


Thu, December 1, 2022 
Wild Files: It’s our Nature
By Chadd Cawson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Sturgeon have been around for over 200 million years, working their way through the waters while dinosaurs roamed the earth. Like salmon they are an anadromous fish with 27 species worldwide and are the primary source for the delicacy caviar. White sturgeon are the largest anadromous fish in Canada and are only found in B.C. They can be easily identified from the dual rows of four to eight ganoid bony plates and despite their name are often a grey or brownish shade on their dorsal side. They have barbels which are located near the snout anterior to their mouths.

Seen swimming in many of our Columbia Valley waterways such as our upper Columbia River, and some of it’s tributaries like Arrow, Slocan, and Kootenay lake to name a few. White sturgeon is native to the Pacific coast which is why they are only found throughout B.C. but unlike their swimming buddies, Pacific salmon white sturgeon do not die upon spawning and often live to be over years 100 old.

When it comes to their own diet they feed on shellfish, crustaceans, small fish like herring and shad, insects, and gastropods but aside from humans can also make a tasty dinner for sharks, sea lions and other marine mammals. In the sturgeon world males mature faster sexually than females and are ready to spawn between the age of 12 and 18 years old. For female white sturgeon they don’t reach their full maturity to spawn until they reach between 25 and 30 years old.

Female sturgeon has many suitors and will have their eggs fertilized by many males during spawning season which happens between May and July. When a female releases her eggs, they develop an adhesive coat and are negatively buoyant upon contact with water. Dependent on the water’s temperature hatching of these eggs can take anywhere from three to 13 days. After the egg incubates, they go through the larvae and fry stage before becoming a juvenile sturgeon which at that time can become more independent with it swimming and feeding. This their last stage before maturing into full adults, when first becoming juveniles, they are typically only 10 cm long.

Quite a catch

White sturgeon have a reputation for being a challenge to catch. They can reach lengths of up to 610 cm with an average mass weighing over 500 kg. White sturgeon are considered quite rare with data showing they have seen quite a population decline over the last 30 years. Schools, or groups of white sturgeon are made up of seniors these days rounding the age of a century as they navigate the waters, one could say they are old school. When one does reel one of these remarkable ancient beauties in on the Columbia River it is intended to be recreational with an expectation to catch and release. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has assessed White Sturgeon in B.C. as threatened with declines particularly in both the Fraser and Columbia River.




Fish tales

All fish are vital to Indigenous people for their survival and sustainability. While sturgeon may not be considered as sacred as salmon, they still certainly hold their place. In some cultures, and folklore, the Sturgeon Moon is connected to how abundant sturgeon once were, and easy to catch come the end of summer. Because of the sheer size of sturgeon, a single catch would feed many. On record the largest white sturgeon ever caught dates to the 1800’s and weighed just over 680 kg, and needed the aid of horses to reel it in.

Chadd Cawson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Columbia Valley Pioneer








Posted by at No comments:

Friday, February 14, 2020

 #ANTHROPOCENE #SIXTHEXTINCTION 

Researchers announce extinction of the Chinese paddlefish

The paper well illustrates the factors behind the disappearance of the Chinese Paddlefish; and they sound all too familiar to those affecting sturgeon in other rivers such as the Danube. Credit: Flickr Biosiversity Photo Database, Yangtze Museum

Researchers announce extinction of the Chinese paddlefish
The new decade 2020 began with the sad announcement that another species is now extinct—the Chinese Paddlefish (Psephurus gladius), a close relative of the sturgeon family. A paper by Chinese scientists concluded (based on IUCN criteria) that after 200 million years, the "Panda of the Yangtze" which reached up to 7m is now gone from the Yangtze forever. Although the paper received wide coverage in international media, unfortunately it only marked the scientific notification of a fate already sealed and known for some time. In fact, the authors estimated that the paddlefish went extinct somewhere in 2005–2010. The last time a live specimen was found was in 2003. Ten years before that (1993), scientists announced that the species was already "functionally extinct," meaning that for lack of mates it could not reproduce anymore. Therefore, the newest paper did not write a surprise ending for this sad story. Experts have been well aware of the situation for many years.
The paper well illustrates the factors behind the disappearance of the Chinese Paddlefish; and they sound all too familiar to those affecting  in other rivers such as the Danube. In particular, the combined effects of overfishing and the disruption of migration routes by both small and  without proper consideration for  continue to have severe negative impacts on these . On the Danube, the situation is best represented by the Iron Gates Dams.
The Chinese paddlefish population has been in gradual decline over the last century. Even so, until the 1970's, up to 25 tons of paddlefish were still harvested annually. When the Three Gorges and Gezhouba Dams were constructed on the Yangtze River in the 1980s without any fish passes, they cut off the paddlefish spawning grounds and sealed their fate.
The Danube River, which was historically the home to six distinct sturgeon species, is no exception to this repeating story. The European Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) already disappeared long time ago from its entire Black Sea range. The last specimen was found in 1991 in the Rioni River in Georgia. This sturgeon is also sometimes referred to as the common sturgeon, since it was once found all across Europe. Today it is extirpated from all its entire range except in the Gironde-Dordogne-Garonne Basin in France. Less than 800 wild common sturgeons are thought to survive. A breeding and release programme is in place, but due to a very low number of fish in the breeding stock, it has not been very effective.

When the Three Gorges and Gezhouba Dams were constructed without any fish passes, they cut off the paddlefish spawning grounds. Credit: Flickr Biosiversity Photo Database, Liu Chen Han
Action might also come too late for the ship sturgeon, another species once native to the Danube River system. Given that only three known specimens have been caught since 2000, most experts consider the ship sturgeon functionally extinct in the Danube River Basin.
Down from six to four!? None of the four remaining Danube sturgeon species are doing great either. If anything, these past stories should be ringing alarm bells in Europe, and in particular in the Black Sea Region. Currently, the Lower Danube and the Rioni River are the only rivers on the European continent where sturgeon that need to migrate between salt and freshwater environment still reproduce naturally. Only the sterlet, a pure freshwater species, can also be found upstream from the big and unpassable Danube dams such as the Iron Gates or Gabcikovo.
"There is so much more we want to learn about these fascinating fish, but we are running out of time and we know already well enough what measures need to be taken and that we need to take them now, in order to prevent their extinction"—Beate Striebel, WWF Sturgeon Initiative leader.
As time is literally ticking for sturgeon, the Pan European Action Plan for Sturgeon Conservation clearly outlines what needs to be done. A year ago, governments signed up to this plan under the Bern Convention and the European Habitats Directive. It is time to follow up on these commitments. Otherwise we will soon read about similar stories like the one about the Yangtze Paddlefish.
Background
The only remaining relative is the American paddlefish, found in the Mississippi River Basin. Credit: Kevin Schafer / WWF 
The Chinese paddlefish was the largest predatory freshwater fish; one of only two paddlefish species in existence. The only remaining relative is the American paddlefish, found in the Mississippi River Basin in the United States. Almost nothing is known about its biology and ecology. Chinese paddlefish could reach 3-7 m (23 ft) in length and weigh up to 300-500 kg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_paddlefish) Both  species are closely related to the sturgeon family, of which 85 percent are threatened with extinction; making them the most endangered group of species globally.
WWF is engaged in sturgeon protection measures in most Danube countries. Sturgeons used to be present in almost all European rivers, but today seven out of the eight species of sturgeon on the European continent are threatened with extinction. Sturgeons have survived the dinosaurs, but now teeter on the brink of extinction. The Black Sea Region is crucial to the survival of these species in Europe. The Danube and the Rioni River in Georgia are the only two rivers remaining in Europe where migrating sturgeons reproduce naturally. The main reasons are overfishing and loss of habitat through dams that block migration routes or in-river constructions, facilitating navigation. These are often detrimental to the feeding and spawning habitats, necessary for sturgeon survival. Within the EU the only river with naturally reproducing sturgeon populations remains the Danube. Crucial but no longer reproductive stocks are left in the Po River in Italy and the Gironde in France. Restocking activities take place in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, France, Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands. Our priority is to identify and protect the critical habitats of the remaining four sturgeon species (Huso huso, Acipenser stellatus, A. ruthenus, A. gueldenstaedtii) in the Lower Danube and north-western Black Sea, as well as to reduce pressure on their remaining populations by addressing poaching and ensuring protection.WWF releases 11,000 sturgeons to restock Danube
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

 

Half of tested caviar products from Europe are illegal, and some aren’t even caviar



Peer-Reviewed Publication

CELL PRESS

Sturgeons at a fish market in Eastern Europe 

IMAGE: 

A PILE OF STURGEONS BEING SOLD AT A FISH MARKED IN EASTERN EUROPE.

view more 

CREDIT: WWF GEORGE CARACAS




Wild caviar, a pricey delicacy made from sturgeon eggs, has been illegal for decades since poaching brought the fish to the brink of extinction. Today, legal, internationally tradeable caviar can only come from farmed sturgeon, and there are strict regulations in place to help protect the species. However, by conducting genetic and isotope analyses on caviar samples from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine—nations bordering the remaining wild sturgeon populations—a team of sturgeon experts found evidence that these regulations are actively being broken. Their results, publishing on November 20 in the journal Current Biology, show that half of the commercial caviar products they sampled are illegal, and some don’t even contain any trace of sturgeon.

“The conservation status of the Danube sturgeon populations renders each individual important for their survival, and the observed intensity of poaching undermines any conservation effort,” write the researchers, led by Arne Ludwig of the Leibniz-Institute for Zoo & Wildlife Research.

In Europe, there are four remaining sturgeon species, including Beluga, Russian, stellate, and sterlet, that are capable of producing caviar. The last remaining wild populations of these species in the European Union can be found in the Danube River and the Black Sea. Each species has been protected since 1998 under CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. In 2000, their CITES listing was accompanied by a strict, international labeling system for all caviar products designed to stop illegal trade. Despite these protections, it was widely known from local anecdotal accounts that illegal poaching is still happening, cites the team, even though no formal investigations had been conducted.

To find out the true source of the commercially sold caviar products being produced in native sturgeon regions, the researchers bought caviar both online and in person from a wide variety of sources including local markets, shops, restaurants, bars, and aquaculture facilities. They also included five samples that had been seized by authorities. In total, they collected and analyzed 149 samples of caviar and sturgeon meat.

After analyzing each sample’s DNA and isotope patterns, the team found that 21% of the samples came from wild-caught sturgeons and that these wild-caught fish were sold in all of the countries studied. They also found that 29% of the samples violated CITES regulations and trade laws, which included caviar that listed the wrong species of sturgeon or the wrong country of origin, and categorized another 32% of samples as “customer deception,” such as samples declared as wild products that actually originated from aquaculture.  

“Our results indicate an ongoing demand for wild sturgeon products, which is alarming, since these products endanger wild sturgeon populations,” write the researchers. “The persistent demand fuels poaching and indicates that consumers do not fully accept aquaculture products as a substitute. In addition, caviar being sold in violation of CITES and EU obligations questions the effectiveness of controls in general and the labeling system in particular.”

Three of the samples, served in Romania in a dish called “sturgeon soup,” weren’t sturgeon at all. Instead, the researchers identified the fish as European catfish and Nile perch.

The authors suggest that the large volume of illegal poaching activity could be an indicator that local seafood vendors are lacking adequate income opportunities, which might increase the pressure to engage in illegal fishing activity.  They also point to the fact that there is likely a lack of effective law enforcement in these regions, either because stopping illegal poaching isn’t a priority for local authorities or because they don’t have the tools to prove a fish’s illegal origin. But regardless of the reasons, they stress the importance of taking action, and quickly.

“Although poaching and illegal wildlife trade are often considered a problem in developing countries, these findings bear evidence that a high ratio of poached sturgeon products originates from EU and accession candidate states,” write the authors. “The control of caviar and sturgeon trade in the EU and candidate member states urgently needs improvement to ensure that Danube sturgeon populations will have a future.”

###

This research was supported by funding from an EU-LIFE project.

Current Biology, Ludwig et al. “Poaching and illegal trade of Danube sturgeons.” https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)01316-7

Current Biology (@CurrentBiology), published by Cell Press, is a bimonthly journal that features papers across all areas of biology. Current Biology strives to foster communication across fields of biology, both by publishing important findings of general interest and through highly accessible front matter for non-specialists. Visit: http://www.cell.com/current-biology. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com.


Sturgeons being descaled for sale at an Eastern European fish market.

CREDIT

WWF George Caracas

JOURNAL

Current Biology

DOI

10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.067 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Poaching and illegal trade of Danube sturgeons

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

20-Nov-2023

Posted by at No comments:

Monday, September 26, 2022

FOSSIL FISH
Sudden die-off of endangered sturgeon alarms Canadian biologists
White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in the Fraser River.
 Photograph: Cavan Images/Alamy

The deaths within days of 11 sturgeon, a species unchanged for thousands of years, have puzzled scientists

Leyland Cecco in Toronto
THE GUARDIAN
Mon 26 Sep 2022

When the first spindly, armour-clad carcass was spotted in the fast-flowing Nechako River in early September, Nikolaus Gantner and two colleagues scrambled out on a jet boat, braving strong currents to investigate the grim discovery.

Days later, the remains of 10 others were spotted floating along a 100km stretch of the river in western Canada.

In total, 11 endangered white sturgeon have mysteriously died in a short period of time, blindsiding biologists, who are trying to save a fish teetering towards extinction.

The species has remained relatively unchanged in 200m years: toothless apex hunters that glide gracefully in a handful of British Columbia’s rivers. To navigate the murky waters, sturgeon gently brush whisker-like barbels that hang from their snout along the gravelly bottom.

White sturgeon, with a torso clad in five distinct bony plates called scutes, look every inch a prehistoric fish. The largest ever recorded reached 20ft long and another, believed to be 104 years old, weighed nearly 1,800 lbs.

The Nechako River, where the sturgeon population has dropped from 5,000 to 500 in the past century. Photograph: Fernando Lessa/Alamy

“When you see a massive head appearing through the murky water and the eyes look at you, it’s just incredible to see this majestic animal alive,” said Gantner, a senior fisheries biologist with the British Columbia government. “And you gain respect for it, knowing that most fish we see are older than us.”

The rapid succession of deaths has taken an unexpected emotional toll on Gantner and his colleagues.

“I’m deeply saddened. These last couple of weeks, I feel like I’m going through grief,” he said. Each time he and colleagues tenderly move the hulking carcasses of the fish from the shore to the freezer and on to the necropsy table, he feels a pang of sorrow. “I don’t think I felt like that from other fish that I’ve worked with.”

So far, there are no obvious answers. The team hasn’t found any sign of trauma nor evidence of chemical exposure, disease, or angling-induced death.

“Whatever it is, it affects larger sturgeon, not other species. It’s constrained to a place in time and space. So that gives us some clues,” said Steve McAdam, a biologist with the province’s ministry of land, water and resource stewardship. “In a way, it’s easier to rule a bunch of stuff out than to rule some things in.”

The deaths in the Nechako are particularly painful for McAdam, who studied a similar die-off in the lower Fraser River in 1993 and 1994, when the region lost 36 fish in two years.

A battery of tests that followed that die-off was inconclusive, said McAdam; the events occurred in differing ecosystems, hundreds of kilometres apart, offering limited clues to investigators.

Because the team investigating the current episode has a narrow window of time to recover dead sturgeon before decomposition sets in and destroys valuable clues, they have appealed to the public for help. In a region where the fish have deep cultural ties to First Nations and are part of the curriculum in local schools, residents have paid close attention to the phenomenon.

A range of theories have been suggested, including a belief that elevated water temperatures are to blame. But McAdam said previous hot summers had not triggered similar die-offs.

“There’s no end to the ideas. There are some partial explanations, but we’re really trying to keep an open mind and not veer too far down one path,” he said.

To navigate in murky waters, sturgeon gently brush whisker-like barbels that hang from their snouts along the gravelly bottom.
 Photograph: Minden Pictures/Alamy

Before the mysterious die-offs, white sturgeon, which are listed as a federal species at risk, were already in trouble.

Over the last century, the numbers in the Nechako River have dropped from more than 5,000 to only 500. Soon after a dam was built on the Nechako River in 1957, the species experienced what biologists call “recruitment failure” – new fish weren’t being added to the population.

It is from within that ageing population, already missing an entire generation of fish, that the 11 have died.

Overfishing, drainage projects and dam construction have all contributed to the collapse. On all the rivers in the province where sturgeon once thrived, dams have crushed their populations. Only the Fraser River, the largest without a dam, has a relatively healthy sturgeon population in the tens of thousands.

British Columbia has worked since 2001 to help the species recover, drawing teams of provincial and federal biologists, First Nations groups and the industries tied to sturgeon habitat loss, like hydroelectric dam operators.

Efforts include using hatcheries, a “stopgap measure” to help the population recover, as well a longer-term goal of restoring habitat.

But the sudden death of 11 members of a species already spiralling towards demise mirrors a trend all over the world: sturgeon have become the most threatened genus of fish.

All of the 26 remaining species of sturgeon are now at risk of extinction. They are the victims of overfishing; in some species, like beluga sturgeon, the roe is prized as caviar. And the habitats they have persisted in are disappearing.

“They are a quite a charismatic species and it’s a fish that has been around for millions of years. So you don’t take it lightly when it’s in danger,” McAdam said.

The abruptness with which the fish have died has puzzled biologists in part because white sturgeon have been closely studied and monitored for the last three decades, precisely because of their precarious situation.

“And then within a week, this happens. We have a new huge question mark,” said Gantner. “It’s really blindsided us.”

Both Gantner and McAdam were hopeful that the deaths will serve a broader end, providing valuable insight to biologists into what might have happened – and how a similar outcome can be prevented in the future.

Because the other option – that they have already reached some kind of a tipping point – is too bleak to consider.

“We’ve never done the experiment of eliminating them fully and seeing how truly important sturgeon are to an ecosystem,” said McAdam. “And personally, I don’t think we ever want to.”



Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, September 02, 2021

Record sturgeon catch on Fraser River ‘a lifetime moment’ for ex-NHL goalie and friends

Former NHL goalie Pete Peeters of Sturgeon County, Alta. (no less) and friends caught the 11 1/2-foot fish on Aug. 15

THIS IS OGOPOGO, FLAT HEAD LAKE MONSTER, CHAMPY, #CRYPTID #CRYPTOZOOLOGY

Author of the article: Patrick Johnston
Publishing date: Aug 30, 2021 • 
Jake Driedger (left) and Pete Peeters with the massive sturgeon they reeled in with the help of guide Kevin Estrada on the Fraser River near Chilliwack on Aug. 15 PHOTO BY KEVIN ESTRADA /Sturgeon Slayers

All week, Pete Peeters had been joking to his fishing guide that he had made people famous.

The former National Hockey League goalie won the Vezina Trophy as the circuit’s best goaltender in 1982-83 with the Boston Bruins, but prefers to make note of goals he gave up to Mario Lemieux or to Wayne Gretzky.

Lemieux scored his first NHL goal on Peeters, while Gretzky scored goals 46, 47, 48 and 49 in his 39th game of the 1981-82 season, when Peeters was a Philadelphia Flyer. The Great One scored goal No. 50 in the same game — setting a record that is likely never to be matched — but into an empty net.

“And then he said, ‘Now I’ve made you famous,'” Kevin Estrada explained with a laugh this week.

Estrada is a fishing guide — Sturgeon Slayers is his company — and earlier this month had Peeters and a group of friends out on the Fraser River, north of Chilliwack, when the group snagged something special: A sturgeon bigger than anything that’s been measured in modern history.

The fish’s fork-length was a B.C. record: 352 cm (or 11 feet, six inches). Its girth was 141 cm (55 inches) and was estimated to weigh 890 pounds. Other recent claims to similar sizes have been dismissed upon further review, Estrada said.

“I couldn’t fathom how big these fish were,” Peeters said from his home in Alberta. “Even when the fish came up, it was hard to believe.”

Kevin Estrada (blue shirt on the left), Jake Driedger (white shirt, front, second from left), former NHL goalie Pete Peeters (grey hat, front right) and brothers Bryant and Barry Bowtell (back row). The group snagged a sturgeon bigger than anything that’s been measured in modern history. PNG

The retired goalie lives in — if you can believe it — Sturgeon County, just north of Edmonton. A remarkable coincidence, though Peeters notes the area is better known for trout fishing.

Also on the boat were Jake Driedger, who traded off on the rod with Peeters to reel in the giant, as well as Barry and Bryant Bowtell. All four men are from Alberta.

“Canadians like them have kept our small business alive during COVID and we are very appreciative of all our resident Canadians who have helped us crawl through this,” Estrada said.

The measurements were confirmed by another guide, Steve Forde of Reel Sturgeon Adventures. And Estrada said he had been in touch with the Guinness Book of Records people as he believed it was a likely world record, too.

“Very rarely do you see something that is this big, over 11 feet,” Estrada told Postmedia. “Something this big could take well over 100 years to get to this size. It’s a lifetime moment. It’s hard to put into words.”

It took about 25 minutes for the group to reel in the sturgeon. Sturgeon bigger than 150 cm (just under five feet) don’t get lifted out of the water, but anglers are allowed to hold and pose with the fish in the water.

“It wasn’t slimy like the trout we have out here … it felt like a damp snake,” Peeters said.

Peeters’ group actually got a special bonus, Estrada said.

“We were actually in some clear water so we got to see the whole fish,” he said. “You don’t often get to see them in their full glory … it was magnificent to see.

“I had tears in my eyes. I’ve been fishing this river since I was 15 years old … We’ve had some spectacular fish, some very memorable fish over the years, but never anything this big.”

Credit conservation efforts over the past two decades for allowing this sturgeon to grow so big, Estrada said. The sturgeon fishery has been strictly catch and release since the early 2000s.

Alongside his business, Estrada has been a director for the Fraser Valley Angling Guides Association, an advocate to government about sustainable fishing on the Fraser River and helping the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation with a project to tag and track the local sturgeon population, which has had local school children out on the water to help.

“We have to be more sustainable going into the future,” Estrada said.

Salmon fishing, especially net fishing, is a huge risk to the health of sturgeon.

“Those nets are targeting salmon, which are between 60 and 100 cm, and that is also where we also see a decline in the population of sturgeon, it’s between that size range,” he said. “As we get older we’re going to have a big population missing unless we change very quickly to more sustainable practices.”


Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, October 13, 2022

B.C. First Nations seek action on sturgeon deaths, after court blamed declines on dam

VANCOUVER — Three British Columbia First Nations want the provincial and federal governments to live up to a nine-month-old court decision that said there is "overwhelming" evidence a dam on the Nechako River is killing endangered sturgeon.


B.C. First Nations seek action on sturgeon deaths, after court blamed declines on dam© Provided by The Canadian Press

They are highlighting the ruling after scientists asked the public in September for help in solving the mysterious deaths of 11 adult sturgeon found in the Nechako River in central B.C.

The Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship said the fish showed no visible external injuries and their deaths were not caused by disease, chemical exposure, angling or gillnet fisheries.

However, the Nechako First Nations claim mismanagement of the river and the dam reservoir are behind the deaths, saying quick action is needed to protect their rights and the sturgeon, which the court said were in “a decline so severe that the species is currently at risk of imminent extirpation.”


In the 1950s, the B.C. government authorized the Aluminum Company of Canada, now Rio Tinto Alcan, to build the Kenney Dam and a 233-kilometre-long reservoir on the river for hydropower generation to smelt its product.

Two of the Nechako First Nations, the Saik’uz and Stellat’en, sued the governments and Rio Tinto Alcan for the decades of losses to their fisheries, the lands, waters and rights.

The B.C. Supreme Court ruled in January that while Rio Tinto Alcan has complied with every contract it signed and abided by all terms on its water licence, the "failure" came from the governments who settled on insufficient requirements to protect the fish of the Nechako.

The judge ruled the Saik’uz and Stellat’en nations have an Aboriginal right to fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes in the Nechako River watershed and that both the provincial and federal governments have an obligation to protect that right.

Justice Nigel Kent said it was a fact that the Kenney Dam's installation and operation were behind the "recruitment failure" of the Nechako white sturgeon, referring to the survival of fish larvae into the juvenile stage.

Sturgeon, with their long snout and shark-like tail, can grow up to six metres long and live for over a century. The Nechako white sturgeon are a distinct population.

Priscilla Mueller, elected chief of Saik’uz First Nation, said the community living along the river has watched water flow decline over the last several years.

“Right now, the Nechako River received less than 30 per cent of the water that it would naturally receive. So, when you look at the river today, the water level is very low. It would be very difficult for the sturgeons to survive in very low water," she said.

“It’s not only affecting the sturgeons, but it’s also affecting our salmon and other fish habitats."

Mueller recalled fishing with her grandparents as a child and said the salmon and sturgeon thrived on the river.

“And now like in Saik’uz, I haven't heard of anybody getting a sturgeon for years since I was a child .… The (Kenney) Dam really affected the river in a big way,” said Mueller.

The Saik’uz, Stellat’en and Nadleh Whut'en First Nations said in a news release that the recent deaths are the “latest blow” to the endangered species, which numbers between 300 and 600.

“Given the population’s conservation status, these mortalities have very serious implications for the Nechako white sturgeon’s ability to recover, and will drive the population closer to extinction,” they said.

The nations have since filed an appeal of the January ruling, seeking a court order for the restoration of flows on the Nechako that would re-establish "the natural functions of the river.”

Mueller said it’s not just in the First Nations’ interests to restore the river — the health of the river would benefit the whole community on the waterway.

The nations said they now look forward to discussions with all parties to create a new water management regime.

Mueller said one of the first steps is to invite Rio Tinto to their community to see who they are and how they live.

"So, for our community, building relationships is very important. And when you think about a relationship, it's not just one-sided. If we were gonna co-manage the river, that means all parties need to be involved,” said Mueller.

The Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship said no more dead sturgeon have recently been observed on the Nechako River, which it saw as a “positive update.”

“We are cautiously optimistic that this mortality event is over. The province is focusing on understanding the cause and what can be done to prevent potential future events," the ministry said in an email statement.

No cause of death was immediately apparent, but analyses and lab tests would continue, with water temperature and oxygen stress studies also underway through a partnership with the University of British Columbia, said the ministry.

"The province understands there is interest from First Nations and stakeholders in a water release facility at the Kenney Dam in the Nechako watershed," the ministry said, adding that it was discussing sturgeon stewardship "to ensure it meets the interests of Nechako First Nations."

Fisheries and Oceans Canada said in a written statement it had been engaged with Indigenous groups, Rio Tinto, B.C. and others in Nechako River white sturgeon recovery initiatives since 2000. A key objective was to ensure Rio Tinto operations “do not impact Nechako white sturgeon and facilitate their recovery.”

Andrew Czornohalan, director of power and projects at Rio Tinto BC Works, said in an email statement that the company is “deeply saddened” by the sturgeons’ deaths and it is working with partners, including the Nechako white sturgeon recovery initiative and the province.

“We are aware of the sturgeon mortality that occurred this summer in the Nechako River and in other rivers in B.C., including the Fraser River. We have offered technical capacity via the water engagement initiative to identify the possible causes of this unprecedented event."

He said the company has contributed over $13 million to the recovery initiative since 2000.

Over the past two years, Rio Tinto has been working with the First Nations and local communities to improve the water flow into the Nechako River while still monitoring for flood risks in Vanderhoof, a city in northern B.C., said Czornohalan.

“We will continue to collaborate with First Nations, governments and other stakeholders to review all aspects of the Nechako Reservoir management process in hopes of improving the health of the river and ensuring Rio Tinto can remain a driver of economic opportunities in B.C.,” said Czornohalan.

He said on top of powering its smelting plant, the dam provides hydropower for around 350,000 residents in B.C.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2022.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press

Posted by at No comments:

Friday, July 22, 2022

FOSSIL FISH EXTINCTION
Chinese paddlefish, last seen in 2003, now officially extinct due to human activity


July 21 (UPI) -- The Chinese paddlefish, a freshwater fish that has been known to live for as many as 100 years, has been officially ruled extinct and more than two dozen similar fish are also threatened, wildlife officials said Thursday.


© Provided by UPI News CBS News YouTube

The World Wild Fund for Nature announced the status changes in a report that was based on a 13-year sturgeon and paddlefish study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Sturgeon Specialist Group.

The study said that the Chinese paddlefish, which are closely related to sturgeons, were last seen almost 20 years ago and has died out due to human activity such as overfishing and dam-building.

"The assessment officially declares the extinction of the Chinese paddlefish, the extinction in the wild of the Yangtze sturgeon and the regional extinction of ship sturgeon in the Danube," the WWF said in a statement Thursday.The study also said almost two-thirds of sturgeon and paddlefish species are now critically endangered on the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species.

"There's something to be said about humanity, when a species that's outlived the dinosaurs is pushed to the brink of extinction by humans who have, in comparison, existed for a mere blip in time," Beate Striebel-Greiter, WWF Lead of the Global Sturgeon Initiative, said in a statement.

"We call on countries to stop turning a blind eye to the extinction of sturgeon and implement the solutions they know can help save these iconic species.

Sturgeon are among the planet's largest freshwater fish and can grow to 23 feet and weigh up to 1.6 tons. The WWF said sturgeon have been around since the dinosaurs and have remained almost unchanged since.

"The world's failure to safeguard sturgeon species is an indictment of governments across the globe, who are failing to sustainably manage their rivers and live up to their commitments to conserve these iconic fish and halt the global loss of nature," Arne Ludwig, chair of the IUCN Sturgeon Specialist Group, said in a statement.

"These shocking -- but sadly not surprising -- assessments mean that sturgeon retain their unwanted title as the world's most threatened group of species."

We have a choice: thriving healthy rivers that nourish and sustain communities around the world or stick with today's failed policies -- leaving us with empty rivers that benefit neither people or nature."






Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to leave post after 8 years


By —Danica Kirka, Associated Press
Feb 15, 2023 

LONDON (AP) — Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said Wednesday that she plans to step down after more than eight years in office, amid criticism of her drive to expand transgender rights and her strategy for achieving independence from the United Kingdom.

Sturgeon made the announcement during a news conference at her official residence in Edinburgh, Bute House, saying the decision wasn’t a response to the “latest period of pressure.” But she added that part of serving well was knowing when to make way for someone else.

“In my head and in my heart I know that time is now,” she said. “That it’s right for me, for my party and my country.”

Sturgeon, 52, has led Scotland since 2014, when Scots narrowly voted to remain part of the United Kingdom. While the referendum was billed as a once-in-a-generation decision on independence, Sturgeon and her Scottish National Party have pushed for a new vote, arguing that Britain’s departure from the European Union had changed the ground rules.

The U.K. government has refused to allow a second referendum.

The first female leader of Scotland’s devolved government, Sturgeon said she planned to remain in office until the SNP elects a new leader. Scotland is part of the U.K. but, like Wales and Northern Ireland, has its own semi-autonomous government with broad powers over areas including health care.

Sturgeon’s announcement caught political observers by surprise amid her staunch support for both independence and legislation that would make it easier for people in Scotland to legally change genders.

“This is as sudden as Jacinda Ardern … Geez,” tweeted SNP lawmaker Angus MacNeil, referring to the resignation last month of New Zealand’s prime minister.

Sturgeon came under pressure in recent weeks after she pushed the gender recognition bill through the Scottish parliament over the objections of some members of her own party. That raised concerns that Sturgeon’s position on transgender rights could undermine support for independence, the SNP’s overarching goal.

WATCH: Nationalism, talk of independence on the rise in Scotland, Wales

Joanna Cherry, an SNP member of Parliament, said the resignation provided an opportunity for the party.

“We must restore the SNP’s tradition of internal party democracy, open respectful debate and intellectual rigour and we must also put the welfare of everyone living in Scotland back at the heart of our endeavours,” Cherry said on Twitter.

Sturgeon said she had been “wrestling” with whether it was time step down for a number of weeks. She said she wasn’t resigning because of recent criticism, though she acknowledged that the “physical and mental impact” of the job had taken their toll.

Sturgeon led Scotland through the coronavirus pandemic and guided her party during three U.K.-wide elections and two Scottish elections.

“If the question is, can I battle on for another few months, then the answer is yes, of course I can,” she said. “But if the question is, can I give this job everything it demands and deserves for another year, let alone for the remainder of this parliamentary term, give it every ounce of energy that it needs in the way that I have strived to do every day for the last eight years, the answer honestly is different.”

For the past few months, much of that energy has been focused on a renewed drive for independence and the gender recognition bill, which would allow people aged 16 or older in Scotland to change the gender designations on identity documents by self-declaration, removing the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

Hailed as a landmark by transgender rights activists, the legislation faced opposition from some SNP members who said it ignored the need to protect single-sex spaces for women, such as domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers.

Criticism of the bill increased after reports that a convicted rapist was being held in a women’s prison in Scotland while transitioning. The inmate was transferred to a men’s prison after being assessed by prison authorities.

While the Scottish parliament approved the legislation, it has been blocked by the British government because it would present problems for authorities in other parts of the U.K., where a medical diagnosis is needed before individuals can transition for legal purposes.

Sturgeon had vowed to take the British government to court, arguing that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration had made a “profound mistake” by vetoing the legislation.

Sturgeon also came under fire for saying she would make the next Scottish parliament election a de facto referendum on independence after the government in Westminster refused to sanction a new vote on Scotland’s links to the U.K.

The party is set to hold a conference on the strategy next month, with some members saying it won’t work and others criticizing Sturgeon for waiting too long to press ahead with independence.

Bronwen Maddox, chief executive of the Chatham House think tank, said it was clear Sturgeon had made her mark, being both influential and divisive. But she failed to secure the ultimate prize.

“She’s been more successful in one way of being a figurehead, leading her party and leading the Scottish government, but she has failed to do the one thing she really set out to do, which is to secure independence,” Maddox said.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)