| Neuigkeiten | Disclaimer | Administration | Archiv | |
| Record breaking sturgeon spawning season in Wisconsin, 17.04.2012 |
 Wisconsin’s sturgeon spawning season in the Lake Winnebago, Fox, and Wolf River system heads towards new all time highs. Latest counts indicate the population to be still increasing and extremely large fish showing up. Between March 17th and April 17th repeated spawning events of Lake sturgeon (A. fulvescens have been reported by Wisconsin DNR teams. The ultimate achievement for this year is the first reproduction of lake sturgeon in the river section above Balsam Row Dam following a transplant of fish into the section of the river located in the Menominee tribal reserve. Access to this section of the river was blocked for more than 100 years. The Menominee tribe issued a press release for this important cultural event which is given below. Menominee indian tribe press releaseLink: posted by: Rosenthal on 17.04.2012 at 18:29 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Now available: New WSCS Special Publication on the life history and behaviour of Sturgeons, 22.03.2012 |
||
 The book presents the results of fiftheen years of research, compiled in 12 chapters which are complementary to each other, covering a wide range of subject areas, ranging from laboratory studies to comprehensive field work. Chapter 1 introduces the shortnose sturgeon biology in the Conncticut River system, demonstrating the impact of damming. Chapter 2 examines the spring upstream migration focussing also on the demography of the population. Chapter 3 examines the spring migration of spawning and non-spawning fish while Chapter 4 provides a comparison of the foraging and wintering behavipour of two populations of shortnose sturgeon in the Connecticut and Merrimack rivers.
The research presented in this volume was conducted by many dedicated researchers who are co-authors of the various chapters. Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 23.03.2012 at 07:52 |
||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Danube River Sturgeon Task Force established, 06.03.2012 | |
 During a workshop in Vienna, initiated by the International Association for Danube Research (IAD) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a task-force for the conservation of sturgeons in the Danube River Basin and adjacent areas of the Black Sea was established on January 20th 2012. The aim of this task-force is to coordinate and foster the implementation of the Action Plan for Danube River Sturgeons adopted under the Bern Convention in 2005. Ultimately, the decline of these flagship fish species must be stopped to prevent extinction. The Danube River Sturgeon Task Force consists of key experts and representatives of governmental and research institutions as well as NGOs involved in sturgeon conservation in the Danube River and its tributaries, among them the International Commission for the Protection of Danube River (ICPDR) and the Priority Area Coordinator for Biodiversity of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. All members pledged to keep their networks informed on and involved in activities.
Current leader and contact for inquiries about the Danube Sturgeon Task Force is: Dr. Cristina Sandu Institute of Biology Bucharest, Romanian Academy Splaiul Independentei no. 296 sect.6 RO-060031 Bucharest, Romania e-mail: sanducri@yahoo.com Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 07.03.2012 at 00:48 |
|
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Winnebago Sturgeon Spearing Seasons opened Saturday February 11, 2012, 15.02.2012 |
| Opening day of the 2012 sturgeon spearing system on the Winnebago Lakes lived-up very close to pre-season expectations: Significantly reduced numbers of spearers on Lake Winnebago and fair water quality resulted in a modern record low harvest for an opening day on the big lake with 39 fish, while close to normal effort and clear water resulted in a higher than average opening day harvest of 171 fish from the Upriver Lakes lottery fishery. The registered harvest today of 39 fish on Lake Winnebago was the lowest since 2007 when 183 were registered opening day that year. On Lake Winnebago we are a very long way off from tripping any harvest closure trigger and likely may not trip any trigger before the season maximum of 16 days is reached. The registered harvest of 171 on the Upriver Lakes ties the most fish recorded opening day on those waters since the lottery began in 2007 when 171 were also registered opening day that year. Nine more adult females need to be registered on the Upriver Lakes to trip the 90% closure trigger on those waters. Despite purchasing a record 12680 licenses for the 2012 season, many spearers elected to stay off Lake Winnebago this opening day due to variable ice conditions and less than optimal water clarity. 2197 shanties were set up on the ice of Lake Winnebago on opening day. Normally spearers set over 4,500 shanties on Lake Winnebago, and about 500 on the Upriver Lakes. Wile a record 4597 spearers applied for a 2012 Upriver Lakes license the Department of Natural Resources authorizes the purchase of 500 licenses for the Upriver Lakes each year through a lottery drawing. Out of the 210 fish registered system-wide today 12 fish were 100 pounds or larger in weight (5.7%), 2 from Lake Winnebago and 10 from the URLs, with the largest a 79.6 inch, 179.9 pound female taken by a lady spearer Chris Haedt of Oshkosh (see attached photo by DNR). Chris's fish is the 5th largest fish on record since the fishery began in 1932, now number 5 on the all-time list right behind a 180 pound fish taken by Elroy Schroeder of Appleton in 1953 that stood as the Winnebago record until 2004. The current record is a 212.2 pound fish speared in 2010 by Ron Grishaber of Appleton. We have consistently seen fish in excess of 200 pounds in our spring spawning assessments over the last 10 years so we know they are out there and it is merely a matter of time before another 200 pounder shows up in the harvest. We estimate our Winnebago sturgeon stock is probably in as good of shape it has been since the 1800s. Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 15.02.2012 at 11:00 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| WSCS General Assembly announced, 09.01.2012 |
| This years General Assembly of the World Sturgeon Conservation Society will take place in Tulcea, Romania on March 12th 2012. It is planned to be accompanied by a 2 day workshop on restoration biology focusing among other topics on the management of the rehabilitation efforts on the lower Danube. The Agenda of the General Assembly is available as a download: WSCS General Assembly 2012 AgendaLink: posted by: Rosenthal on 09.01.2012 at 11:06 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| CITES published the actualized sturgeon and caviar quotas for 2011 - 2012, 30.11.2011 |
| On November 15th, CITES presented the revised quotas for March 1st, 2011 through February 29th, 2012. No quotas were issued for wild fish and products of wild fish while quotas were provided only for fertilized eggs (Romania), as well as caviar and meat (Iran) of farmed origin. Link: The respective document can be found at cites.org posted by: Rosenthal on 30.11.2011 at 10:04 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Vietnam increases sturgeon production in cage farms, 30.11.2011 |
 Vietnam Sturgeon Corporation has opened its fifth sturgeon farm in the central highlands province of Dak Lak. Once completed, the net cage facility located in the Buon Tu Srah hydropower plant reservoir in Lak District will have an estimated capacity to rear one million sturgeons. The company claims it to be the largest of its kind world-wide.In the first phase the facility will hold 40,000 fish. The company’s other facilities are located in the northern province of Bac Giang, the central provinces of Binh Thuan and Binh Dinh, and the central highlands province of Lam Dong. In the next two years the company plans to further increase its capacity in order to raise the total caviar output to 1,000 tonnes per annum. The company plans to become a leading global caviar exporter in the next three years. Link: Source: DTi News posted by: Rosenthal on 30.11.2011 at 09:55 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Traffic Report on illegal caviar trade in Bulgaria and Romania, 30.11.2011 |
| A new report by the international wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC was launched by the WWF in BUDAPEST, Hungary, November 15, 2011. Persistent illegal trade in caviar involving Bulgaria and Romania is undermining the survival of the endangered sturgeons in the Danube River Basin. The report lists a total of 14 seizures of illegal caviar originating from Bulgaria (27.5 kg in five seizures) and Romania (25 kg in nine seizures) reported by EU Member States between 2000 and 2009 while neither Bulgaria nor Romania have reported any illegal caviar seizures. Katalin Kecse-Nagy of TRAFFIC who authored the report stated "It is of concern that Bulgaria and Romania reported no seizures of caviar, while other EU Member States registered several seizures where those two countries were implicated.". The World Sturgeon Conservation Society warns that the Danube is the only large river system in Europe where rehabilitation of existing but declining sturgeon stocks is still possible. Full report at TRAFFIC.orgLink: posted by: Rosenthal on 30.11.2011 at 09:48 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Regional Workshop on the Turkish Action Plan for Rehabilitation of Near Extinct Sturgeons and Development of a Black Sea Perspective, 03.11.2011 |
| The two day Workshop was held in Trabzon, Turkey October 19th and 20th, 2011 with some 50 participants from Turkish administration and research institutions as well as delegates from Georgia, Romania, Russia and Ukraine as well as a representative from the Black Sea Commission. During this third and last meeting on the subject in 2011, Turkey was finalizing its National Sturgeon Action Plan on sturgeon conservation. The Action Plan development was supported as part of a joint TCP project by the regional office of FAO (Ankara) with active input of WSCS. This final Action Plan meeting also served as an opportunity to bring the Black Sea range states together in an attempt to discuss the Turkish Plans on conservation of sturgeons as well as to reach consensus on a basin-wide coordination of efforts as well as seeking opportunities for active cooperation. It is planned that the final version of the Action Plan will become available at the end of this year. Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 03.11.2011 at 19:06 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| VIU Centre for Sturgeon Studies to open October 3rd, 29.09.2011 |
 After accommodating about 120 sturgeon researchers in July this summer (4th WSCS-NAC sturgeon Conference, WSCS Board meeting and General Assembly), Vancouver Island University is envisaging the next sturgeon event sincce the Centre for Sturgeon Studies is about to be opened by October 3rd 2011. The 1,208-square-metre facility will provide the new home for staff and students from the biology and the fisheries and aquaculture departments as well as guest scientists. It provides the opprtunity to work in five "wet" labs, with rearing tanks, and a "dry" lab. Support for the new centre came from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, B.C. Knowledge Development Fund, Island Coast Economic Trust, Marine Harvest Canada.Just in time to finalize the centre for the event, Western Economic Diversification Canada, announced an additional funding of approx. $700,000 this month. With this background, VIU is well equipped for the future, hosting ISS7 in July 2013. Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 29.09.2011 at 10:18 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Beluga sturgeon monument dedicated on the bank of the Danube River, 05.09.2011 | ||
| On August 5th 2011 the Beluga sturgeon monument (a copy of a fish of 450 Kg) was given to the public on the bank of the Danube River, in Tulcea (Romania). This monument was the idea of Carl Manzano, director of the Donau Auen National Park of Orth, Austria. A replica of this monument will soon also be situated in Orth marking the long distance character of the sturgeon migration in the Danube. The artist’s name is Catalin Becheru from Bucharest. The monument was funded by DDBR Authority in Tulcea, from the international project Danube Parks. It was intended primarily for kids but also for visitors. “We all hope that it will remind Romanians and tourists visiting Tulcea and the Delta that beluga sturgeons still swim in the Tulcea branch every year to spawn further upstream in the Danube River” says Radu Suciu of the Romanian Danube Delta Institute.
Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 05.09.2011 at 23:56 |
||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| 5th International Sturgeon Conference in Warsaw, Poland, 17.06.2011 | |
| Aller Aqua and WSCS announce the 5th International Sturgeon Conference in Warsaw, Poland on November 23rd 2011. The fifth conference of the series focusing on sturgeon farming is hosted in Warsaw, Poland on November 23rd. The event is co-organized by the WSCS. Further details will be provided in due time. For further details please contact: Aller Aqua Polska Sp. z o.o. Nożynko 77-116 Czarna Dąbrówka Poland
Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 17.06.2011 at 20:38 |
|
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Book of abstracts from the EAS 'Aquaculture Europe 2008' conference,16.06.2011 |
| The EAS has published the extended abstracts of the 'Aquaculture Europe 2008 - Resource Management' EAS annual conference. These are available as a EAS Special Publication, also containing the papers presented at the EAS-WSCS joint session on sturgeon aquaculture. The book of abstracts can be ordered directly from the EAS home office. European Aquaculture Society Slijkensesteenweg 4 Oostende, B-8400, BELGIUM Link: Online contact form sheet at the EAS website posted by: Rosenthal on 16.06.2011 at 19:32 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Publications from the European Aquaculture Society, 16.06.2011 |
| The WSCS is cooperating with several societies which share certain aspects on fish conservation and cultivation including sturgeons. Please have a look at the attached pdf-file illustrating and commenting special publications of the European Aquaculture Society. There may be several books which are of interest to WSCS members dealing with a variety of issues that are pertinent to sturgeon culture too. Catalogue of the EAS publicationsLink: Website of the European Aquaculture Society posted by: Rosenthal on 16.06.2011 at 18:46 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| North American Chapter of WSCS is hosting its 4th annual meeting, 02.05.2011 |
| WSCS NAC is having its 4th annual meeting at the International Center for Sturgeon Studies, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada from July 11-14, 2011 with the conference focusing on "Sturgeon Recovery and Management" since efforts to manage, preserve and to restore these species have increased substantially in the last 30 years. In North America some of the healthiest populations still remain, and some of the longest running proactive restoration programs exist. These recovery and management programs will be the focus of a special session and panel discussion at this conference. Within this overarching theme, we would encourage discussion on topics that include general biology and physiology, early life history, behavior, aquaculture, risks to populations and recovery, capture and monitoring methods and other topics that contribute to the general knowledge of the species or recovery efforts. In addition to the conference, on July 11th there will be three workshops prior to the conference on: 1) sturgeon telemetry techniques 2) sturgeon telemetry data analysis 3) sturgeon osmoregulation Based upon the previous meeting last year the program was expanded to one day of workshops, three days of presentations, and a poster session. Registration costs include most meals and the provision of the 75 subsidized housing units at the VIU campus (on a first come basis) will also help defray costs. Along with the NAC conference, WSCS is going to have its General Assembly as well as the annual Board Meeting. Link: For additional information, the registration form and the call for papers please visit: posted by: Rosenthal on 02.05.2011 at 20:17 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Bulgaria issued ban on sturgeon fishing, 18.03.2011 |
| Bulgaria issued a ban on sturgeon fishing for Danube River and the Black Sea which came into force on 21.02.2011. The ban includes all fishing activities for sturgeons on Danube River and in Black Sea until the end of 2011. A second ban, specifically addressing sturgeon catch is under preparation to become effective in the period from 01.2012-12.2015 which is to be adopted by the end of March 2011. As a result of the protection attempts in correspondence with the Danube sturgeon Action Plan an information campaign will be implemented in Bulgaria after the second fisheries ban has come into force. Link: For additional information (in Bulgarian language only) see posted by: Rosenthal on 18.03.2011 at 13:25 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Sturgeon Conference 2011 in Tulcea, Romania, 17.03.2011 |
| Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority (DDBRA) carries out international conference on conservation recovery and sustainable use of Danube River sturgeons under the framework of the Danube Parks project. The conference takes place in the Delta Hotel, Tulcea (Romania, Europe) from March 30th to April 2nd 2011. The conference facilitates the exchange of experience and the dialogue between the national and international experts on recovery and restoration of threatened sturgeon populations and the manager specialists in the field of fisheries, protected waters or areas of the Danube. The conference combines plenary sessions with technical visits to the aquarium of the Institute of Eco-Museal Research in Tulcea, the monitoring stations for migratory fish in Isaccea, Horia and of DDBRA as well as hatchery operations. Invited presentations will be given by experts from the US, China, France, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. The programme of the conference is available through the contact office for the conference at: contact: Ana Matei phone number: +40 374 326 063 e-mail: ana.matei@abplus.ro Link: Conference information including registration form (DANUBEPARKS website) posted by: Rosenthal on 17.03.2011 at 09:16 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| 2011 Winnebago Lakes Sturgeon Spearing Season – Season Synopsis, 16.03.2011 | ||||
| The 2011 season went into the books as the 4th 16 day season since we began the harvest cap system in 1999. The others were 2002, 2006, and 2007. Under current rule the season lasts until we hit one of the harvest cap closure triggers or 16 days, whichever comes first. The average season length under the harvest cap system since we went to the 6 hour spearing day (6:30 AM to 12:30 PM) in 2005 is 11 days. The shortest season since 2005 was a 4 day season in 2008. Our total harvest of 1426 was close to the average annual harvest, since initiating the harvest cap system in 1999, of 1405. Effort as measured by total spearing license sales was definitely up this year at 12,423 from 10,860 in 2010. Spearers are excited in general about the success of the fishery, and the lure of the increased number of trophies in the harvest also brings some additional people into the fishery. There may also be some demographic changes occurring as the next generation of spearers may be entering the fishery. I’ll know more about these trends after we examine the license and harvest data and complete our analysis. Effort as measured by shanty counts on the lake told the real story of the 2011 season. We started the season on opening day with counts of 4321 on Lake Winnebago and 372 on the Upriver Lakes. Warm weather, snow melt, and deteriorating travel conditions on the ice of the lakes the first week of season forced a majority of spearers to pull their shacks off the lakes dropping the shanty count by the second Saturday of the season 59% on Lake Winnebago and 81% on the Upriver Lakes. The Upriver Lakes usually drops off anyways since, as a lottery fishery, once tags begin to be filled, spearers often pull their shacks off the lakes.
Spearers ask two questions related to this phenomenon: 1) “Why?”, and 2) “Are we taking too many 100 lbers?”. “Why?” - When we started down the path of updating regulations to better control the harvest and stabilize the adult spawning stock of sturgeon in the Winnebago System our colloquial goal was “We want to grow more old ladies”. In other words, we saw that our adult female stock was being overharvested primarily due to a high size-limit (45”) along with the lack of a safe harvest cap system, and that we needed to reduce that harvest and increase survival of females. All of the new regulations and laws (22 in total) that were implemented since 1993 appear to have done their job quite well. The other part of the success equation was luck – sometimes you just have to get lucky. The timing of implementation of the new regulations and laws could not have been better. As the new regulations began to have an impact on the sturgeon harvest, the size and age structure of the Winnebago sturgeon population was poised to include more older and larger fish with each passing year.
“Are we taking too many 100 lbers?” – At this point the percentage of 100 pound plus fish in the harvest appears to be truly reflective of what is actually in the population. We have been watching the trend of more trophy size fish growing not only in our harvest, but also in the spawning stock – both females and males – for over 15 years now. In the 2004-2006 time period sturgeon food resources were at a low point. Lakefly larvae were at the lowest point we had ever measured going back to the 1960s, and the gizzard shad hatches in the early 2000s were low as well. Sturgeon depend on these two food resources for 86% of their nutrition. Since 2006 both of these food resources have bounced back to high levels and the condition of the sturgeon also bounced back to the fish “with shoulders” that we see have been seeing the last few years. Ron Bruch, WI DNR Fisheries Supervisor Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 16.03.2011 at 09:38 |
||||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| 4th International Sturgeon Conference 2010 in Warsaw, Poland, 29.07.2010 | |
| Aller Aqua in cooperation with the WSCS has the pleasure to invite you to the 4th International Sturgeon Conference, November 24th, 2010 in Warsaw, Poland. The program of the conference is currently being discussed with the speakers and will be available soon. Experts from the field of science as well as leading practitioners of sturgeon aquaculture are participating in the process of organization. The objective of the conference is the exchange of practical experience of sturgeon farming for caviar production. This is a unique chance to meet sturgeon farmers from many countries to share knowledge and information. Registration deadline: 12. November 2010 More detailed information in regard to registration, hotels, the location and the program can be found directly on the Aller-Aqua website:
Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 29.07.2010 at 12:31 |
|
| [ 0 comments ] |
| WSCS North American Chapter Annual Meeting 2010 in Bozeman, USA, 16.06.2010 |
| The planning for the 3rd WSCS-NAC meeting is progressing well. The meeting will take place August 31st to September 2nd at the Bozeman Fish Technology Center, Bozeman, Montana. The program of the three day meeting focuses on two key subject areas: (1) sturgeon conservation genetics and (2) sturgeon age estimation and tagging techniques. Please see the attached pdf files to find the proposed programme as well as the registration form. Papers presented at the meeting can be submitted for publication to the Journal of Applied Ichthyology, the official WSCS journal. WSCS NAC Meeting 2010 - 3rd Announcement Fillable Registration FormLink: posted by: Rosenthal on 17.06.2010 at 14:10 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| 2010 sturgeon spawning run has begun on the Wolf River, 12.04.2010 |
| Dear Winnebago Sturgeon Enthusiasts: The 2010 sturgeon spawning run has begun on the Wolf River. A handful of females have been spawning with their harems of males along the Wolf River Trail on County Highway X west of New London for a few days now, but the remaining 3000 or so females in the river that need to spawn yet have been waiting for the water temperatures to get a little higher. The wait appears to be over as a large number of fish moved into the Bamboo Bend spawning site on Highway 54 west of Shiocton last night and are vigorously spawning this morning. I suspected this to be the case when I heard the high flocks Canadian geese migrating north at 6:00 AM this morning. Every spring when we first see the high large V-flocks of Canadian geese heading north (not the low local flocks), we know we will be working spawning sturgeon that day. Given the weather forecast this week calling for high temperatures for most days (except tomorrow) in the 60s and possibly low 70s, we expect the majority of sturgeon in the Wolf River to spawn sometime this week. Sturgeon spawn each spring at approximately 20 or more sites (out of about 60 known sites) on the Wolf, Little Wolf, and Embarrass Rivers. Once fish start spawning at a particular site, the activity lasts there about 3 or 4 days, with usually 2 days of peak activity at that site. Most of the nearly 60 different spawning sites on the Wolf River and tributaries are man-made, with only about 10 natural sites. The man-made sites are typically rip rapped areas on outside bends adjacent to deep water that people rocked to protect their river banks from erosion. Although erosion is a natural event on rivers, most of the erosion today is caused by boat wakes crashing into soft shorelines, which causes erosion rates to be much higher than normal. The best spawning site on the river is a natural site below Shawano Dam, which has always attracted large number spawning sturgeon, even before the dam was built in 1892. Thousands of fish spawn at this site every year. In many years we also will see a "second run" at several of the main sites, typically a small number of females that need higher a temperature to induce their ovulation, that spawn about a week or two after the main spawning event. That's it for now........more later this week. Ron Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 13.04.2010 at 07:50 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| 3rd Annual WSCS NAC Meeting 2010 - Second Call for Papers, 10.04.2010 |
| Dear WSCS NAC EC Members: Attached is the Second Call for Papers and Fillable Registration Form for our 3rd Annual WSCS NAC Meeting this coming August-Sept. Please distribute this call and registration form as widely as possible to sturgeon people in your area. Abstracts are due to Molly by April 30 - as of last week she had received 10 abstracts - we need to make a big push to get the number of abstracts and participants necessary (at least 40) to make our meeting a success - so please push this via e-mail, personal phone calls and contacts. Also don't forget to submit your own abstracts. Second Call for Papers Fillable Registration FormLet's make this happen........ Thanks, Ron More detailed information about this meeting in the conferences section! Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 10.04.2010 at 09:58 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Winnebago Sturgeon Harvest Report Wednesday, February 17th, 19.02.2010 |
| The 2010 sturgeon spearing seasons on both the Upriver Lakes and Lake Winnebago will end tomorrow, Thursday February 18th, 2010, at 12:30 PM. Total of 179 fish registered today including 7 fish larger than 100 pounds. Ninety percent harvest closure triggers were hit today on both Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes. Totals for the day: Lake Winnebago: 26 juvenile females; 64 adult females; 69 males; TOTAL of 159 Upriver Lakes: 1 juvenile females; 5 adult females; 14; TOTAL of 20 SYSTEM-WIDE: 27 juvenile females; 69 adult females; 83 males; TOTAL of 179 Total for the Season to date: SYSTEM-WIDE: 240 juvenile females; 723 adult females; 694 males; TOTAL of 1657 *(including 78 fish 100 pounds or larger) Station totals attached. The graphic below shows impressively that over the past decades the percentage of high weight fish harvested is increasing and this is certainly the result of the scientifically sound management system, including a very strict enforcement of the regulation with illegal catches virtually absent. If you wish to explore more details on the reasons please read the following article: "Why more bigger fish now than 20 years ago?"  Link: Wednesday, February 17th: Winnebago Sturgeon Harvest Totals posted by: Rosenthal on 20.02.2010 at 03:02 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Winnebago Sturgeon Harvest Report Sunday, February 14th, 15.02.2010 |
| Somewhat slower harvest pace today on both Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes, which typically happens the day after all the excitement following opening day. Total of 656 fish registered today with, again, a nice bevy of 17 fish larger than 100 pounds. The number of spearing shanties dropped very little lake wide though from 4033 shacks on Lake Winnebago yesterday to 4009 today and 490 on the Upriver Lakes yesterday to 469 today. Many spearers moved their shacks on Lake Winnebago to areas of clearer water along the east shore and northern end of the lake. Total harvests for the day: Lake Winnebago: 56 juvenile females; 163 adult females; 124 males; TOTAL of 343 Upriver Lakes: 9 juvenile females; 9 adult females; 37males; TOTAL of 55 SYSTEM-WIDE: 65 juvenile females; 172 adult females; 161 males; TOTAL of 656 Total for the Season to date: SYSTEM-WIDE: 161 juvenile females; 466 adult females; 427 males; TOTAL of 1054 (including 51 fish 100 pounds or larger) Station totals attached 2010 Season Projections: Lake Winnebago is at 62.9% of its adult female harvest cap (180 to go to hit 90% closure trigger; 247 to go to hit 100% closure trigger) Upriver Lakes are at 63.5% of their adult female cap (20 to go to hit 90% closure trigger; 27 to go to hit 100% closure trigger) At this rate, and given effort typically drops significantly after opening weekend, both the Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes could remain open for at least a couple more days, and possibly well into the coming week. Link: Sunday, February 14th: Winnebago Sturgeon Harvest Totals posted by: Rosenthal on 16.02.2010 at 14:43 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Record lake sturgeon catch from Lake Winnebago weighing 212.2 lb (96.3 kg), 14.02.2010 | ||
| More on the new record fish - "If this fish could only talk" The 212.2 lb (96.3 kg), 84.2 in (214 cm) record fish harvested yesterday was a record not only for Lake Winnebago, but also a new sturgeon spearing record for Wisconsin. The previous record sturgeon taken by spear in the state was a 195 pound fish harvested on May 20, 1979 from Pokegama Lake in Vilas County on the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation. Although we have not yet aged this fish (we hope to get fin and ear bone samples from the fish to estimate its exact age), it is likely around 100 years old which means: - This fish hatched from an egg laid by its mother approximately in the year 1910 - at that time the lake sturgeon stocks on the Great Lakes were nearly decimated from commercial overharvest, driven to such low levels between 1880 and 1910 that even after 100 years of protection, the stocks in Lake Michigan are just now beginning to show some meager signs of recovery. - This fish would have become legal size for the Winnebago spear fishery in 1918 - the year the US entered World War I (Sturgeon harvest on the Lake Winnebago System was closed from 1915 to 1932; the first modern spear fishery on Lake Winnebago opened in the winter of 1931-32 with a 30" minimum size limit and a 5 fish per spearer season bag limit. This fish therefore was legal size for all 78 spearing seasons held since 1932.) - This fish would have likely first spawned approximately in 1936 - the year the year President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the Hoover Dam. - This fish would have made spawning runs up the Wolf River 19 times in its life (females only spawn once every 4 years after they reach maturity at the average age of 27); would have laid a total 11.4 millions eggs in its lifetime, and produced an estimated 228 one year old lake sturgeon in its lifetime.
Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 15.02.2010 at 03:14 |
||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Winnebago Sturgeon Harvest Report for Saturday, February 13th, 14.02.2010 |
| A record smashing day on Lake Winnebago today for the start of the 2010 sturgeon spearing season. We have been handling fish in our spring spawning surveys in excess of 200 pounds for several years now, and finally one of these large super-trophies has shown up in the spear harvest. Ron Grishaber of Appleton registered a 212.2 pound, 84.2" sturgeon this morning at our Harrison Registration Station, west of the village of Sherwood. Also a record number of fish greater than or equal to 100 pounds were registered today - 34 (31 on Lake Winnebago and 3 on the Upriver Lakes). Another record - the largest male sturgeon, 116.8 pounds, 71 inches, ever registered in the spear harvest was brought in to the Winneconne registration station at Critters. "The number of these very large fish in the population has been increasing over the last 15 years due to regulations developed by DNR fisheries staff and the Winnebago Citizens Sturgeon Advisory Committee, implemented in the 1990's designed to decrease the annual exploitation of adult female sturgeon (which are the largest fish in the stock, but the most vulnerable to overharvest), and due to large hatches of sturgeon over a 20-30 year period in the early 1900s that are now entering the super-trophy size in their life. Lake sturgeon, especially females, are believed to be able to live for 150 years or more. The 212 lb record breaker harvest today has not been aged yet, but it likely in excess of 100 years old. Total harvests for the day: Lake Winnebago: 68 juvenile females; 256 adult females; 191 males; TOTAL of 515 Upriver Lakes: 28 juvenile females; 38 adult females; 75 males; TOTAL of 141 SYSTEM-WIDE: 96 juvenile females; 294 adult females; 266 males; TOTAL of 656 Station totals attached Lake Winnebago is at 38.4% of its adult female harvest cap (343 to go to hit 90% closure trigger; 410 to go to hit 100% closure trigger) Upriver Lakes are at 51.4% of their adult female cap (29 to go to hit 90% closure trigger; 36 to go to hit 100% closure trigger) - so it is possible the Upriver lakes could hit either the 90% trigger by 12:30 PM tomorrow (Sunday) which would mean the season would close Monday at 12:30 PM; OR possibly hit the 100% trigger by close of fishing on Sunday which would close the season on the Upriver Lakes at 12:30 PM Sunday. Season closure mechanisms are: The Department will close the sturgeon spearing season on Lake Winnebago when the first of one of the two following conditions occurs: - At the end of the fishing day in which 100% of any one of the three Lake Winnebago harvest caps is reached or exceeded, or - 24 hours from the end of the fishing day within which a harvest of 90%to 99% of any one of the three Lake Winnebago harvest caps is reached. The Department will close the sturgeon spearing season on the Upriver Lakes when the first of one of the two following conditions occurs: - At the end of the fishing day in which 100% of any one of the three Upriver Lakes harvest caps is reached or exceeded, or - 24 hours from the end of the fishing day within which a harvest of 90%to 99% of any one of the three Upriver Lakes harvest caps is reached. The Department will close the sturgeon spearing season on all waters of the Winnebago System when the first of one of the two following conditions occurs: - At the end of the fishing day in which 100% of any one of the three Winnebago System-wide harvest caps is reached or exceeded, or - 24 hours from the end of the fishing day within which a harvest of 90%to 99% of any one of the three Winnebago System-wide harvest caps is reached. Link: Saturday, February 13th: Winnebago Sturgeon Harvest Totals posted by: Rosenthal on 15.02.2010 at 03:06 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Celebrate the 2010 Lake Winnebago Sturgeon Spearing Season at Wendt's on the Lake with the authors of 'People of the Sturgeon', 30.01.2010 |
| On Saturday, February 13th, celebrate opening day of the 2010 sturgeon spearing season for Wisconsin's Lake Winnebago system with the authors of "People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin's Love Affair with an Ancient Fish." Authors Ron Bruch, Kathy Schmitt Kline, and Fred Binkowski will be signing copies of their new book on Wisconsin's sturgeon spearing tradition at Wendt's on the Lake in Van Dyne, Wisconsin. "People of the Sturgeon" tells the story of a century's worth of dedicated work and careful management that has made Lake Winnebago's lake sturgeon population, which once teetered on the edge of extinction, the world's largest and healthiest. Weaving together many local stories and examining the sturgeon's profound cultural impact, the authors reveal how a diverse group of people are now joined together as "people of the sturgeon." Stop by Wendt's to meet the authors, have your copy of "People of the Sturgeon" signed, watch the big fish come in, and share your sturgeon memories! "People of the Sturgeon" book signing at WENDT'S ON THE LAKE Saturday, February 13th, 11:00am N9699 Lakeshore Drive Van Dyne, Wisconsin 54979 (920) 688-5231 "People of the Sturgeon" will be offered for sale at this event. The authors will be available to sign books. For more information on the 2010 Winnebago System Sturgeon Spearing Season, visit the link below. You may also contact Melanie Roth directly: Melanie Roth Marketing Coordinator at the Wisconsin Historical Society Wisconsin Historical Society Press 816 State Street Madison, WI 53706 Link: DNR Wisconsin: Winnebago System Sturgeon Spearing Season posted by: Rosenthal on 30.01.2010 at 12:56 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Petition to list US Atlantic sturgeon as endangered is seeking for comments and information, 20.01.2010 |
| The US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce has released a 90–day petition finding and a request for information on a petition to list Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) as endangered, or to list multiple distinct population segments (DPSs) as threatened or endangered and designate critical habitat under the ESA. On October 6, 2009, the petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to list Atlantic sturgeon as endangered under the ESA was submitted. As an alternative, the petitioner requested that the species be delineated and listed as the five DPSs described in the 2007 Status Review of Atlantic Sturgeon (SRT, 2007); i.e., Gulf of Maine, New York Bight, Chesapeake Bay, Carolina, and South Atlantic DPS, with the Gulf of Maine and South Atlantic DPSs listed as threatened, and the remaining three DPSs listed as endangered. It is expressed that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted based also on the findings of the 2007 status review for Atlantic sturgeon. The petition is seeking comments in the process of preparing a determination on whether listing the species or DPSs of the species as threatened or endangered is warranted. To ensure that the determination considers information that is comprehensive and current, scientific and commercial information regarding this species is solicited. Information and comments must be submitted to NMFS by February 5, 2010. For details and instructions on how to submit comments see the link below. Prepared by: Joern Gessner Link: US National Marine Fisheries Service; Atlantic Sturgeon posted by: Rosenthal on 27.01.2010 at 12:02 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Third International Sturgeon Conference at ALLER AQUA in Warszaw, Poland, 25.11.2009 | ||
| More than 150 participants from 12 countries attended the 3rd annual International Sturgeon Conference organized by Aller Aqua in Warsaw, Poland, under the auspices of the (a) World Sturgeon Conservation Society, (b) Polish Inland Fisheries Institute and (c) Polish Fish Industry Magazine media patronage. Sturgeon farmers, experts from universities and from regional and local research institutions gathered for the one day meeting to share experience and exchange information while attending the six key lectures that focussed on the following subject areas: Modern methods employed for sex determination to minimize stress on and loss of females while also dealing with caviar harvesting (R. Kolman, Poland), while the global situation on World sturgeon markets was presented by WSCS Board member P. Bronzi, giving an update of the review delivered recently at the ISS6 (International Symposium on Sturgeons) in Wuhan China (October 2009); (c) elaborating on various aspects of genetics and selection - practical application in sturgeon aquaculture (N. S. Mugue), while (d) years of past experience in Breeding at Agroittica Lombarda – the largest sturgeon farm in Europe (M. Pazzaglia) were presented. Furthermore, a new approach to sturgeon feeding was demonstrated (J. E. Zerrahn), while also an update on Sturgeon farming in China was given by Anna Pyc. dwelling largely on the information gained through the recent participation in the WSCS-ISS6 Symposium in China which offered new insights in R&D trends (nota bene: the proceedings of ISS6 are presently under preparation and should be available within 6 months).
Prepared by : Paolo Bronzi and Harald Rosenthal Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 21.12.2009 at 13:51 |
||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Specimen of Ship Sturgeon (Acipenser nudiventris) captured alive in in the Danube River, 12.2009 | ||
| Dear friends & colleagues, Please see below the message of Hungarian ichthyologist and friend, Zoltan Sallai, about the lucky capture of live specimen of elusive (Acipenser nudiventris) ship sturgeon, on Dec. 2, 2009 in a wintering hole (18 m) in the Danube River, near Mohacs, Hungary. The fish is a male, TW = 22 kg, TL= 140 cm. The fish was transported and is kept at the Hungarian Fishery Research Institute, HAKI in Szarvas. Now, we only need to work with Romanian fishermen and find a live female (we heard words that even in 2009 one Romanian fishermen captured one specimen but killed it…) than we can propagate the fish artificially in cooperation with HAKI Szarvas and share the fertilized eggs between Romania and Hungary, to grow young ship sturgeon for restocking in the Danube. These fish would be also of extreme value for aquaculture, since it is the largest European freshwater sturgeon.
With this goal in mind, Season’s Greetings to you all from the Danube Delta Sturgeon Research Group, Tulcea! Radu Sucu & Team Link: Announcement from the web page of the Danube – Drava National Park posted by: Rosenthal on 19.12.2009 at 02:11 |
||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Book: Sturgeons and Paddlefish of North America, 12.2009 | ||
This book summarizes our knowledge on the North American sturgeons in 13 Chapters, covering issues ranging from general biology to regional species management.
Table of contents Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 19.12.2009 at 01:30 |
||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| A new WSCS Special publication on Caspian Sturgeons now available – to be ordered via the WSCS home office, 12.2009 |
||
This is a translation and partly revision of a Russian book with the same title which was published in 2007. The book summarizes more than half a century of work on sturgeons in the Caspian Sea basin. The six chapters deal with (1) general characteristics of the study region, (2) spawning migrations in the Volga River, including temporal and spatial characteristics, (3) Post-spawning migrations, (4) Specific behavioural features of early life stages during downstream migration, (5) Distribution of sturgeons in the Caspian Sea, and (6) Fishery yields and major trends in sturgeon stock changes in the Volga-Caspian basin.
The translation has seen some streamlining of the text, as many parts of the origianl text came from older publications (coverage since the end of World War II). Special attention was paid to maintain the original spirit and core meaning while slightly shortening the text where appropriate. Extensive discussions with the authors have not only led to some corrections but also to several new and shared interpretations of results while also combining several data sets into one graphic, thereby adding clarity while also updating the statistics. Therefore, the English version of the book represents partly a revision. The English edition is limited. If you wish to order a copy, please contact the WSCS home office. Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 19.12.2009 at 01:17 |
||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| ISS6 Closing Session and Ceromony : ISS 7 announced, 07.11.2009 |
| The 7th International Symposium on Sturgeon will be held in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada in July, 2013. The event will be hosted by Vancouver Island University (VIU). The WCSC Board of Directors voted to approve the VIU competitive proposal at the board meeting earlier this year, after considering the submissions received. The town of Nanaimo is located on Vancouver Island, Canada and can easily be reached from nearby international airports in the cities of Victoria and Vancouver. Nanaimo is not only an attractive tourist place but also a city with long-standing traditions in fisheries and aquaculture research, including the laboratories of the Pacific Biological Station of the Department of Fisheries and oceans and the Vancouver Island University with its well-established sturgeon group and the newly established Sturgeon Research Center [the new facilities are presently under construction] While the overall theme and objective have already been formulated, the detailed planning is expected to start early for ISS7, as the VIU proposal was already very detailed. The conference organizers hope to expand the attendees to engage a wide range of stakeholders, including environmentalists from various disciplines for which sturgeons can play a role model to develop long-term protection strategies. It is believed that sturgeon conservation objectives can only be achieved when taking an integrated approach where human nature interactions are considered at the same time. We will keep the WSCS membership as well as the global scientific community interested in aquatic conservation issues posted as planning progresses. Harald Rosenthal, WSCS President Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 07.11.2009 at 09:55 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| ISS 6 – Harmonizing human activities with nature: can it be achieved ?, 06.11.2009 | ||||||||||
| Certainly, a demanding title, yet a goal to reach while still far away. While scientists and managers, aqua farmers and planners, engineers and regulatory authorities participated in the sturgeon Symposium with great enthusiasm, all attendants were fully aware of the serious situation sturgeon stock are faced with globally: getting closer to the brink of extinction. It does not come by surprise that throughout the conference, from the opening session to the final statements in the concluding session, the warnings became clearer and more direct that much more stringent and vigorous actions are needed then practiced today to assure that “Harmonizing human activities with nature“ is not just a lip service when it comes to sturgeons. The many subject areas covered during the sessions range from habitat deterioration and restoration to monitoring released fish in fragmented and unfragmented river systems and from public awareness campaigns to high tech aquaculture production systems, particularly addressing the important differences between aquaculture production methods and cultivation methods to produce juvenile fish which are fit for survival in harsh environments and a highly competitive outside world. The attached figures provide some impressions from the Conference sessions and the Trade Show as well as from the many opportunities for lively interactions between sturgeon experts during coffee and lunch breaks while also visiting the Trade Show.
Harald Rosenthal, WSCS President Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 06.11.2009 at 11:46 |
||||||||||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| Release of Chinese Sturgeons into the Yangtze River: a side-event of ISS6, 30.10.2009 | ||||
Over 100 participants of ISS6 joint the 2 day excursion to the Yangtze River and Three Gorges Dam. The juveniles to be released were raised from wild spawners in the large-scale rearing facilities of the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute. Every year large numbers of this species are produced in this hatchery for release. This is done in an effort to partly compensate for the loss of recruitment caused by the fragmentation of the River after the construction of both, the Ghezouba Dam and the Three Gorges Dam (north of Wuhan; Hubei), which block the spawning migration of the Chinese sturgeon.
The official ceremony took place on October 30, 2009 in the afternoon along the beach of the Shashi reach of the Yangtze River, (near the Shalongda City Square), about 100 km below the Ghezouba Dam, a position not too far from the remaining, small-scale spawning ground the sturgeons had decided to use since the dam was constructed. A total of 200 one-year-old fish were released and all ISS 6 participants attending the excursion were ask to release at least one fish by hand to symbolically demonstrate their support for the program. The pictures capture the overall ceremony and atmosphere. Thereafter the group will visit the Three Gorges Dam and a commercial sturgeon farm. Harald Rosenthal, WSCS President Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 05.11.2009 at 08:37 |
||||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| ISS 6 (International Symposium on Sturgeons) opened on October 26, 2009 | ||||||||||||
| The 6th International Symposium on Sturgeons opened on October 26 in presence of the Deputy Minister Nui Dun of the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of China, Beijing, the Vice-Governor of the Hubei Province, the major of the City Wuhan, and many officials from the organizing and sponsoring governmental agencies, including the Chair of the ISS6 secretariat Mr. Yianglang Li (China National Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Association), the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Fisheries Science, Ministry of Water Resource Conservation, institutions and universities of the Hubei Province, China. Also, most of the experts of the attached joint workshops of the IUCN-SSG-WSCS and the FAO-WSCS-IUCN participated in ISS6. There were in total over 460 people in attendance. Participants came from more than 30 countries. During the opening ceremony the key issues to be addressed in the conference were highlighted. Besides the Plenary, the Conference was organized in five parallel sessions to accommodate the announced oral presentations. The photographs presented here provide some general view of the initial conference day.
Harald Rosenthal, WSCS President Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 03.11.2009 at 14:45 |
||||||||||||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| IUCN-SSG-Workshop on 'Redlisting of Euro-Asian sturgeon Species' held in conjunction with ISS6 in Wuhan, China, 23-24.10.09 |
||
| Statement from the IUCN SSC Sturgeon Specialist Group. More than 30 international sturgeon experts including 14 members of the IUCN SSC Sturgeon Specialist Group met at the ISS6 in Wuhan, China to discuss and evaluate the risk of extinction to the 18 European and Asian sturgeon species. These species were re-assessed according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria and their distributions were mapped. In summary preliminary results indicate that the conservation status of these species has not improved, and in some cases has worsened since their 1996 assessment. In other cases more information has been made available allowing for more accurate assessments to be made as compared to their previous assessments. Threats such as river damming, poaching, over harvesting and pollution are driving many species to the edge of extinction. Urgent action is needed for the conservation and sustainable management of many species. Other species desperately require research and surveys to confirm their status. The detailed species assessments will be published on the IUCN Red List in 2010.
Harald Rosenthal, WSCS President Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 30.10.2009 at 21:13 |
||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| FAO – WSCS – IUCN – SSG Technical Guideline on Sturgeon hatcheries discussed at a Workshop attached to ISS6 in Wuhan, China,, 25.10.09 |
| The FAO – WSCS – IUCN - SSG „Technical Workshop on Sturgeon hatchery guidelines“ was held on October 25, 2009 at the occasion of the ISS 6 [6th International Symposium on Sturgeons] in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. It was attended by about 65 experts, including several ISS6 attendees. This provided an excellent opportunity to bring the global expertise on sturgeons together, cooperating closely, sharing their knowledge and experience. The workshop considered the draft document of a hatchery guideline that specifically targets the conditions of the Caspian Sea countries, highlighting the need for improved management capabilities and largely standardized procedure to secure better survival of culture attempts for both, the aquaculture industry and the cultivation for release into the natural environment as an attempt to rehabilitate depleted and highly endangered stocks. The Guideline will eventually lead to the formulation of respective hatchery manuals. The final document will be published during the next year. We will report on the progress of the development in due time. Harald Rosenthal, WSCS President Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 30.10.2009 at 17:38 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
| First WSCS-NAC Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Professor Serge Doroshov, California, 09.2009 |
||
At the recent three day symposium of the North American chapter of the WSCS, which was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Fisheries Society in Nashville, USA in September 2009, Professor Serge Doroshov received the award from Molly and Ron Bruch. Dr. Doroshov has worked on sturgeons since decades and contributed major scientific studies that help understanding the basic biological and physiological performance characteristics of sturgeons that are needed for both, their successful culture and improved conservation. Dr. Doroshov was also a foundation member of the WSCS and was the first Vice-President of the society.
Harald Rosenthal, WSCS President Link: posted by: Rosenthal on 30.10.2009 at 14:59 |
||
| [ 0 comments ] |
| 3rd International Sturgeon Conference in Warsaw, Poland, 25.10.2009 |
| Aller Aqua has the pleasure to invite you to our 3rd International Sturgeon Conference, which will be held on the 25.11.2009 in Warsaw, Poland, at the Airport Hotel Okecie. Participation is free of charge. Please, register by sending the registration form by e-mail: az@aller-aqua.pl, or by regular mail to the following address: Aller Aqua Nozynko 77-116 Czarna Dabrówka Poland Registration deadline is the 10th November 2009. Do not hesitate to contact us. If you have further questions: e-mail: az@aller-aqua.pl phone: +48 696 883 233. Link: Aller Aqua: 3rd International Sturgeon Conference posted by: Rosenthal on 26.10.2009 at 12:32 |
| [ 0 comments ] |
