Status of White Sturgeon in the Lower Fraser River, British Columbia

Sturgeon (Acipenseridae) stocks worldwide are generally in decline, with many populations close to extirpation. One prominent species, the White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) with spawning populations distributed throughout three large, western North American watersheds (the Sacramento, Columbia, and Fraser rivers), has experienced population declines in the past decade. In 2003, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada designated all six populations of White Sturgeon in Canada endangered. To assist sturgeon recovery initiatives in the lower Fraser River (British Columbia), a stewardship-based monitoring and assessment program was developed by the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society. A descriptive population model was developed to provide reliable annual population estimates by size/age group and location, based on tag release and recapture data collected by trained volunteers. As of January 2011, the population estimate (from 40- to 279-cm fork length) was 44,713 (95% confidence level 42, 634-46, 792). Group size analyses suggest that abundance decreases have been greatest for juvenile sturgeon under 100-cm fork length. Recruitment decline may be the result of several factors, including destruction of important spawning and early life history rearing habitats; fewer successful adult spawners due to in-river fisheries; and/or impacts of reduced food supply and ecological imbalances on both early life and adult stages.