Abstract
The European Atlantic Sturgeon, Acipenser sturio, has received increased attention in France because of population declines due to overfishing and deterioration of spawning grounds. Conservation of this species requires many actions, including publicizing the necessity to protect this fish and its habitats, investigations on catches and probable spawning grounds, and on artificial reproduction, which is still in an experimental stage. During its sea life, European Atlantic sturgeon occur from the Bay of Biscay to the Bristol Channel and North Sea. Presently, the number of young fish in the Gironde Estuary during summertime is low and the population has a unimodal age structure. At the time this paper was written, the last recorded reproduction of sturgeon in the Gironde system occurred in 1988 (new evidence of reproduction was discovered in 1995). Growth of young fish from the 1988 cohort was faster than that previously determined for others cohorts. Over our study period (1980–1994), the availability of wild broodfish declined. Successful artificial reproduction of wild-caught females requires an optimal physiological state; any delay decreases their reproductive potential. Acclimatization of wild-caught juveniles to fresh water was most successful when fish were transported and held upon arrival in low salinity water. For such wild-caught juveniles, the first food intake usually occurs several months after capture, but remains irregular. These findings will be used to improve ongoing efforts to restore A. sturio.
Similar content being viewed by others
References cited
Almaça, C. 1988. On the sturgeon, Acipenser sturio, in the Portuguese rivers and sea. Folia Zool. 37: 183–191.
Anonymous. 1995. L'esturgeon européen ne doit pas disparaître! Fleuves et Rivières 1: 57–64.
Antipa, G. 1934. Les esturgeons de la mer Noire. Leur biologie et les mesures nécessaires pour leur protection. Commission Internationale pour l'Exploration Scientifique de la Méditérranée. Rapports et Procés Verbaux 8: 61–75.
Arlati, G., P. Bronzi, L. Colombo & G. Giovannini. 1988. Induced breeding of the Italian sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii) raised in captivity. Riv. Ital. Acquacol. 23: 94–96.
Bacalbaça-Dobrovici, N. 1991. Statut des différentes espèces d'esturgeons dans le Danube Roumain: problèmes liés à leur maintenance. pp. 185–192. In: P. Williot (ed.) Acipenser, Cemagref Publ., Bordeaux.
Bacalbaça-Dobrovici, N. 1997. Endangered migratory sturgeons of the lower Danube River and its delta. Env. Biol. Fish. (this volume).
Barannikova, I.A. 1987. Review of sturgeon farming in the Soviet Union. J. Ichthyol. 27: 62–71.
Barnabé, G. 1989. L'élevage du loup et de la daurade. pp. 675–720. In: G. Barnabé (coord.) Aquaculture, Technique et Documentation Lavoisier.
Benecke, N. 1986. Some remarks on sturgeon fishing in the southern Baltic region in medieval times. pp. 9–17. In: D.C. Brinkhuizen & A.T. Clason (ed.) Fish and Archaeology, Studies in Osteometry, Taphonomy, Seasonality and Fishing Methods, (BAR International Series 294).
Berg, L. S. 1948. The freshwater fishes of the USSR and adjacent countries. 4th ed. Akademia Nauk USSR, Moscow & Leningrad, Part 1. 466 pp. (in Russian, English translation published by Israel Pogram for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem. 505 pp.)
Billard, R. & C. Gillet. 1984. Influence de quelques facteurs de lenvironnement sur la fonction de reproduction chez les poissons. Cahiers Lab. Montereau 15: 45–54.
Birstein, V.J. & W.E. Bemis. 1997. How many species are there within the genus Acipenser? Env. Biol. Fish. (this volume).
Castelnaud, G. 1988. L'opération de marquage de l'esturgeon dans l'estuaire de la Gironde (France) une dimension Européenne. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Anadromous and Catadromous Fish Committee, CM 1988/M28. 12 pp.
Castelnaud, G., E. Rochard, P. Jatteau & M. Lepage. 1991. Données actuelles sur la biologie d' Acipenser sturio dans l'estuaire de la Gironde. pp. 251–275. In: P. Williot (ed.) Acipenser, Cemagref Publ., Bordeaux.
Champigneulle, A. 1988. A first experiment in mass rearing of coregonid larvae in tanks with dry food. Aquaculture 74: 249–261.
Cherepanov, V. V., S. I. Drokin, S. I. Ochkur, B. B. Dzuba, A. S. Chikhachov & E. F. Kopeika. 1993. Freezing of sperm of the Azov-Black sea acipenserids. pp. 63–64. In: International Symposium on Sturgeons, Abstract Bulletin, 6–11 September 1993, VNIRO, Moscow.
Classen, T. E. 1944. Estudio bio-estadistico del esturion o sollo del Guadalquivir (Acipenser sturio L.). Ministerio de Marina Instituto Español de Oceanografia, Madrid. 112 pp.
Cochnauer, T. G., J. R. Lukens & F. E. Partridge. 1985. Status of white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, in Idaho. pp. 127–133. In: F.P. Binkowski & S. Doroshov (ed.) North American Sturgeons: Biology and Aquaculture Potential, Dr W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht.
Cuerrier, J.P. 1951. The use of pectoral fin rays for determining age of sturgeon and other species of fish. Can. Fish Cult. 11: 10–18.
Cuisset, B. 1993. Etude endocrinologique de la fonction de reproduction chez l'esturgeon Sibérien Acipenser baeri Brandt: application au sexage des populations sauvages ou élevées en acipensériculture. Thèse 1039, Université Bordeaux I, Bordeaux. 215 pp.
Dabrowski, K., S.J. Kaushik & B. Fauconneau. 1985. Rearing of sturgeon (Acipenser baeri Brandt) larvae. I. Feeding trial. Aquaculture 47: 185–192.
Debus, L. 1995. Former and recent distribution of Acipenser sturio in the north part and Baltic Sea. pp. 189–203. In: A.D. Gershanovich & T.I.J. Smith (ed.) Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sturgeons, 6–11 September 1993, VNIRO, Moscow.
Dettlaff, T.A. & S.I Davydova. 1979. Differential sensitivity of cells of follicular epithelium and oocytes in the stellate sturgeon to unfavorable conditions, and correlating influence of triiodothyronine. Gen. Compar. Endocrin. 39: 236–243.
Doroshov, S.I. & P.B Lutes. 1984. Preliminary data on the induction of ovulation in white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus Richardson). Aquaculture 38: 221–227.
Drokin, S.I., V.V. Cherepanov, E.F. Kopeika & N.I. Shilin. 1993. Cryopreservation of the sperm of Sakhalin sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris micadoi): problems and prospects for cryopreserved sperm collection from rare and endangered sturgeon species. pp. 64–65. In: International Symposium on Sturgeons, Abstract Bulletin, 6–11 September 1993, VNIRO, Moscow.
Ehrenbaum, E. 1923. Die Eider als Störfluss und die Schonung des Störs. Fischerboten, Norddeutsche Fisch 5: 77–83.
Elvira, B. & A. Almodovar. 1993. Notice about the survival of sturgeon (Acipenser sturio L., 1758) in the Guadalquivir estuary (S.W. Spain). Arch. Hydrobiol. 129: 253–255.
Elvira, B., A. Almodovar & J. Lobon-Cervia. 1991. Sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) in Spain. The population of the river Guadalquivir: a case history and a claim for a restoration program. pp. 337–347. In: P. Williot (ed.) Acipenser, Cemagref Publ., Bordeaux.
Gendron, M. 1988. Riviére des praires, suivi de l'aménagement du haut fond, synthese 1982–1988. Le groupe de recherche SEEEQ Ltée, pour le service de recherches en environnement et santé publique, vice présidence environnement, Hydro Québec. 95 pp.
Giovannini, G., L. Colombo, P. Bronzi & G. Arlati. 1991. Growth of hatchery produced juveniles of Italian sturgeon, Acipenser naccarii Bonaparte, reared intensively in fresh water. pp. 401–404. In: P. Williot (ed.) Acipenser, Cemagref Publ., Bordeaux.
Gutierrez Rodriguez, F. 1962. El esturión del rio Guadalquivir. Ministerio de Agricultura Servicio Nacional de Pesca Fluvialy Caza, Folleto Informativo 5. 58 pp.
Holčík, J., R. Kinzelbach, L.I. Sokolov & V.P. Vasilev. 1989. Acipenser sturio Linneaus, 1758. pp. 367–394. In: J. Holčík (ed.) The Freshwater Fishes of Europe, Vol. 1, Part II, General Introduction to Fishes, Acipenseriformes, Aula Verlag, Wiesbaden.
Kazanskii, B.N. 1981. The ecological-evolutive principles of the reproduction of fish population. Vestnik Leningradskogo Universiteta, Zoologiya 21: 52–58 (in Russian).
Kazanskii, B.N., Y.A. Feklov, S.B. Poduska & A.N. Molodtsov. 1978. Quick method for assessment of sexual maturity in sturgeon close to spawning. Rybnoe Khozaistvo 2: 24–27 (in Russian).
Kaushik, S., K. Dabrowski & P. Bergot. 1986. Metabolic aspects of dry diet utilization by juvenile coregonids. Arch. Hydrobiol. Beih. Ergebn. Limnol. 22: 161–169.
Khodorevskaya, R.P., G.F. Dovgopol, O.L. Zhuravleva & A.D. Vlasenko. 1997. Present status of commercial stocks of sturgeons in the Caspian Sea basin. Env. Biol. Fish. (this volume).
Kinzelbach, R. 1987. Das Ehemalige Vorkommen des Störs, Acipenser sturio (Linnaeus, 1758), im Einzugsgebiet des Rheins (Chondrostei, Acipenseridae). Zeitsch. Ange. Zool. 74: 167–200.
Kohlhorst, D.W. 1979. Effect of first pectoral fin ray removal on survival and estimated harvest rate of white sturgeon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary. Calif. Fish Game 65: 173–177.
Laporte, E. 1853. Faune ichthyologique du département de la Gironde. Act. Soc. Lin. Bordeaux 19: 158–224.
Lepage, M. & E. Rochard. 1995. Threatened fishes of the world: Acipenser sturio Linnaeus, 1758 (Acipenseridae). Env. Biol. Fish. 43: 28.
Letaconnoux, R. 1961. Note sur la fréquence de la distribution des captures d'esturgeons (Acipenser sturio L.) dans le Golfe de Gascogne. Rev. Trav. Inst. Pêch. Marit. 25: 253–261.
Lutes, P.B., S.I. Doroshov, F. Chapman, J. Harrah, R. Fitzgerald & M. Fitzpatrick. 1987. Morpho-physiological predictors of ovulatory success in white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus Richardson. Aquaculture 66: 43–52.
Magnin, E. 1959a. Détermination de l'âge et croissance de l'Acipenser sturio L. de la Gironde. Bull. Franç. Pisc. 193: 152–159.
Magnin, E. 1959b. Répartition actuelle des Acipenseridés. Rev. Trav. Inst. Pêch. Marit. 23: 277–285.
Magnin, E. 1962. Recherches sur la systématique et la biologie des Acipenséridés, Acipenser sturio L., Acipenser oxyrhynchus Mitchill et Acipenser fulvescens Raf. Ann. Stat. Cent. Hydrobiol. Appl. 9: 7–242.
Maitland, P.S. & A.A. Lyle. 1990. Practical conservation of British fishes: current action on six declining species. J. Fish Biol. 37(Supplement A): 255–256.
Maurice, L. 1994. La qualité des eaux de l'estuaire. pp. 32–45 In: J.L. Mauvais & J.F. Guillaud (coord.) Livre blanc de l'estuaire de la Gironde. Agence de l'eau Adour Garonne.
Monaco, G., R.K. Buddington & S.I. Doroshov. 1981. Growth of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) under hatchery conditions. J. Maricult. Soc. 12: 113–121.
Ninua, N. S. 1976. The Atlantic sturgeon of Rioni River. Metsniereba, Tbilissi. 121 pp. (in Russian).
Point, P., 1991. Quelques réflexions sur la prise en compte de l'incertitude dans la politique de gestion d'une espèce sauvage: l'exemple de l'esturgeon ouest européen (Acipenser sturio). pp. 459–474. In: P. Williot (ed.) Acipenser, Cemagref Publ., Bordeaux.
Rochard, E. 1992. Mise au point d'une méthode de suivi de l'abondance des amphihalins dans le système fluvio-estuarien de la Gironde, application à l'étude écobiologique de l'esturgeon Acipenser sturio. Thèse no. 841, Université de Rennes I/Cemagref de Bordeaux. 315 pp.
Rochard, E., G. Castelnaud & M. Lepage. 1990. Sturgeons (Pisces: Acipenseridae); threats and prospects. J. Fish Biol. 37(Suppl. A): 123–132.
Rochard, E. & P. Jatteau. 1991. Amélioration de la méthode de détermination de l'âge de l'esturgeon commun Acipenser sturio et premières applications. pp. 193–208. In: P. Williot (ed.) Acipenser, Cemagref Publ., Bordeaux.
Roule, L. 1922. Etude sur l'esturgeon du golfe de Gascogne et du bassin Girondin. Office scientifique et technique des pêches maritimes. Notes et Mémoires 20. 12 pp.
Struffenegger, P. 1992. Sturgeon farming in California: a promising new industry. Aquaculture Europe 17: 6–9.
Therrien, J. 1988. Avis scientifique sur le statut de la population d'esturgeon noir dans l'estuaire du Saint-Laurent. Avis scientifique 88/1 MLCP Québec et M.A.P.A.C. 23 pp.
Trouvery, M. 1980. Recueil de données sur l'état des zones de pêche et des frayères potentielles de l'esturgeon (Acipenser sturio) en Dordogne (du Bec d'Ambes à Castillon La Bataille) et en Garonne (du Bec d'Ambes à Cassueil). Rapport préliminaire CTGREF, Division A.L.A., Bordeaux. 12 pp.
Trouvery, M., P. Williot & G. Castelnaud. 1984. Biologie et écologie d'Acipenser sturio. Etude de la pêcherie. Etude no. 17, Séries esturgeon no. 1. Cemagref de Bordeaux, Div. ALA/Agedra. 79 pp.
Vlasenko, A.D. 1974. Problems concerning artificial spawning grounds of the Kuban River sturgeons. Trudy VNIRO 102: 3–29 (in Russian).
Williot, P. (ed.). 1991. Acipenser. Cemagref Publ., Bordeaux. 519 pp.
Williot, P., R. Brun, T. Rouault & O. Rooryck. 1991. Management of female spawners of the Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baeri Brandt: first results. pp. 365–379. In: P. Williot (ed.) Acipenser, Cemagref Publ., Bordeaux.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Williot, P., Rochard, E., Castelnaud, G. et al. Biological characteristics of European Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser sturio, as the basis for a restoration program in France. Environmental Biology of Fishes 48, 359–370 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007392904240
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007392904240