White sturgeon are the largest freshwater fish in North America and can weigh over 1,500 pounds, reach 20 feet in length and live for more than 100 years. Instead of scales, sturgeon are protected by a heavy sandpaper-like skin and five rows of bony plates, that serve as an armorlike covering. They are a primitive, bottom-dwelling, slow-growing, late-maturing fish. White sturgeon spawn in the large rivers of the Pacific Northwest in the spring and summer months, then returning to the more brackish river estuarys. The young remain in freshwater until mature. White Sturgeon have extremely firm flesh with a rich, earthy flavor.
Of the seven North American species of sturgeon, only two – white and green – remain in sufficient numbers to be a commercial resource. Both are on the West Coast.
White sturgeon, which are caught primarily in the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon, are more prized for their flavor.
