California – White sturgeon are found in coastal and anadromous waters in California from the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins north to the Oregon border. They are the largest freshwater fish in North America and can live as long as 100 years.
White sturgeon spawn in large rivers in the Central Valley and mostly reside in the Delta and the San Francisco Bay, They also range along the coast and enter bays and rivers. Many sturgeon have been found in North State rivers.
There are historical records of fish as large as 20 feet, though according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), it is now rare to find any larger than six and a half feet in California waters. In fact, the average white sturgeon captures in the Delta in recent years is 3.6 feet.
White sturgeon are known to live a long time, or at least they used to. The oldest fish on record was 103 years old when it was caught. Now days most are believed to be less than 20 years old or younger. The age they need to be for reproduction is 10-19 years, with males maturing earlier than the females. The males are smaller than the females.
There are many threats to white sturgeon, according to CDFW. These threats include man-made changes to river flows, toxic harmful algal blooms, overfishing, poaching, collisions with large vessels, and climate change, says the CDFW…