Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Reproductive Demographics And Early Life History Of The Shovelnose Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus Platorynchus), Robert E. Colombo

Robert E. Colombo

Due to the collapse of the historic caviar fisheries in the Volga River and Caspian Sea, the demand on domestically produced caviar has increased. To supply the increased demand, the harvest of the shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus latorynchus has increased. Because caviar fisheries preferentially harvest females, information regardingthe sexual demographics of these populations is essential for effective fisheries management. To date, knowledge regarding the sex ratios and reproductive development of the shovelnose sturgeon population in the Middle Mississippi River is lacking. In Chapter 1, I describe this problem in detail and in subsequent chapters I explain how I addressed this problem …