Lake Sturgeon

• Lake sturgeon can reach a maximum 6-7 feet (1.8-2.1 m), with the average mature adult size between 3-5 feet (0.9-1.5 m).
• The lake sturgeon has a primitive appearance with a torpedo-shaped body consisting of five rows of bony plates.
• Lake sturgeon are gray to brown in color dorsally and white ventrally.
• There are four distinctive barbels near its mouth.

• Lake sturgeon are omnivorous and have been described as “eating virtually anything”. Food items include leeches, snails, clams, other invertebrates, small fishes, and algae.
• A bottom feeder that searches for food using its barbels as it moves closely over the substrate.

• Lake sturgeon are North American freshwater fish occurring in the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and Mississippi River basins.
• This species is found at the bottom of lakes and large rivers (typically from 16-30 feet [5-9 m].
• Prefer muddy, sandy, and/or gravel substrates.

• Spawns over rocky and boulder-filled areas along the outside bend of rivers and around islands. Spawning occurs from April through June. Females can produce 50,000-700,000 eggs per season.
• Lake sturgeon eggs hatch in 5-8 days and after about 2 weeks, fry have fully developed mouths and barbels and are about an inch (2.54 cm) long.
• Females reach sexual maturity around 14-23 years. Males mature in 8-19 years.
• Lake sturgeon have been estimated to live up to 100 years

• “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List.
• The international trade of the species is also restricted by CITES II.

www.fishbase.org

www.iucnredlist.org

https://www.fws.gov/species/lake-sturgeon-acipenser-fulvescens

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Fishing/sturgeon/LakeSturgeon.html