Key points
- Identity: North America's largest freshwater fish, capable of growing over 6 meters and living for more than a century.
- Range: Pacific coast of North America from the Gulf of Alaska to central California; in Canada, only BC — the Kootenay River, Columbia River, Fraser and Nechako systems (source). Historically migrated throughout the Kootenay Lake, Kootenay River and Columbia River corridors .
- Status (national): The Upper Fraser, Upper Columbia, Upper Kootenay and Nechako River populations are listed Endangered under Schedule 1 of Canada's Species at Risk Act (2006), and COSEWIC assesses the upper populations as endangered (SARA registry). Dam construction altered river hydrology, flows and temperatures, breaking natural spawning and egg survival.
- Recovery Efforts: Managed under active conservation hatcheries (e.g., Kootenay Trout Hatchery) that spawn wild fish and release juveniles to maintain the population.
Fishing by region
- Regulations, seasons, and the waters to target vary by region — in the Kootenays, see Beyond Trout in the Kootenays.
Open questions
- Spawning habitat restoration projects and their long-term viability in restoring wild recruitment.
Related
- Kootenay River — historical spawning habitat.
- Kootenay Lake — historical range.
- Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC (Go Fish BC) — runs conservation hatchery programs.
Sources
- — historical notes.
- Wikipedia — White sturgeon — coastal range and BC river systems.
- Environment Canada — White Sturgeon action plan summary — SARA Schedule 1 Endangered listing for the four populations.