The Lake Sturgeon

by Thomas Brooking, Anthony VanDeValk and Richard Colesante

Reprinted (with minor modifications) from The Oneida Lake Bulletin:  Summer, 2000.

          Lake sturgeons' presence in Oneida Lake has been documented from 1856 to as recently as 1973, when a 40-pound fish was caught by anglers who were trolling near Frenchman's Island. Sturgeon used to be abundant in the Great Lakes' region, but overfishing and dam construction decimated their population. New York currently classifies the lake sturgeon as a "threatened" species.

Sturgeon are a fascinating fish. They often live past age 50 and their weight can easily exceed 100 pounds! Some exceptional fish survive for over 150 years. The New York State record lake sturgeon is a 310 pound female that was 7 feet, 11 inches long. Imagine hooking onto a fish like that in Oneida Lake!

Sturgeon usually do not mature until they are 10 to 25 years old. A 200 pound female can produce 3 million eggs. Sturgeon spawn in tributaries of the St. Lawrence River system, and may exhibit the same preference for current when they reproduce in Oneida Lake.

Cornell biologists have been studying Oneida's sturgeons' diet since 1998. They have a unique method for examining these fish. Captured sturgeon are brought to the Field Station, where their stomachs are gently flushed with water. Stomach contents are then emptied into a pan. This method does no harm to the fish. Food items consisted primarily of amphipods--small aquatic insects that are often called "freshwater shrimp". Other sturgeon snacks included: snails, caddis nymphs, bottom dwelling insects, and tesselated darters--small minnows common to Oneida Lake. Sturgeon stomachs also contained zebra mussels in larger fish.

The Oneida Fish Cultural Station has stocked sturgeon in the lake since 1995. The Hatchery's goal is to restore a viable, spawning population. In the spring of 1995, 40,000 larvae (each about 1/4 inch long) were stocked in Oneida Lake. Few of these fry, however, survived. In the fall of that year, 5,000 large fingerlings (each around 10 inches) were released. Five hundred 7-inch sturgeon and 50 twenty-inch fish were stocked in 1996. Several hundred fish have been stocked periodically from 1998-2003, along with 1,200 stocked in 2004.

Cornell's annual fish surveys reveal that the sturgeon stocking program has been a huge success. To date, biologists have examined over 495 fish from netting efforts. Currently, Oneida Lake's sturgeon are over 58 inches long and their weight sometimes exceeds 60 pounds! This is a very good growth rate. The oldest fish in the lake are now 13 years old.

Biologists have now tagged several thousand sturgeon that were released in the lake. Some anglers, especially those fishing bait on the bottom, have landed sturgeon. At least 27 tagged fish have been reported by anglers. To ensure the restoration program's continued success, we strongly urge that all anglers who catch sturgeon in Oneida Lake do the following:

1. Handle the fish with extreme care. If it has ingested the hook, cut the line. Never rip out an internally imbedded hook.

2. Measure the length of the fish.

3. Note where you caught the sturgeon.

4. Check for tags. We have tagged sturgeon with small yellow tags, inserted at the dorsal fin's base (the fin on top of the fish). If your fish has a tag, record the number. Please do not remove the tag.

5. Release the fish immediately. Remember - sturgeon are classified as "threatened" and must be returned to the water.

6. Call the Cornell Field Station and report your data. The facility's number is 315-633-9243.

Thomas E. Brooking and Anthony J. VanDeValk are from the Cornell Field Station,

and Richard T. Colesante is from the Oneida Hatchery.