Hoisting Sturgeon to Pose for Photos

An older, actually much older, Q&A was posted recently. This one seems to provide maybe more detailed and maybe up-to-date info.

January 29, 2015

Question: I’ve seen several pictures over the years of anglers hoisting oversized sturgeon out of the water and dragging them back to the dock for pictures. Isn’t it against the law to treat fish that are to be released this way? How should oversized sturgeon be handled, given that the justifiably proud angler would like to get a picture or two before releasing? (Jim J.)

Answer: Regulations for sturgeon have become more protective since 2006, so hopefully you were looking at old-time pictures. There are two important issues here – the regulations and doing what is best for the sturgeon. What follows is only about white sturgeon since green sturgeon are a threatened species and thus may not be taken, possessed or removed from the water. If a green sturgeon is caught, it must be released immediately.

Without regard to fish species, the regulations state that all fish “…less than the legal minimum size or greater than the maximum legal size must be returned immediately to the water from which they were taken” (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 1.62). Because white sturgeon have a legal minimum size of 40 inches fork length, and a legal maximum size of 60 inches fork length, it is indeed against the law to bring an oversized white sturgeon to a dock (or even into a boat) for pictures. Photographs of oversized white sturgeon may only be taken of fish while still in the water.

Anglers are not prohibited from taking oversized fish out of the water, but the regulations (as part of several special protections for white sturgeon) also state that, “Any white sturgeon greater than 68 inches fork length may not be removed from the water and shall be released immediately” (CCR Title 14, sections 5.80 and 27.90). These sections give anglers what amounts to an 8-inch margin of error when measuring white sturgeon in the water.

As far as what’s best for any sturgeon that will be released, according to CDFW sturgeon expert Marty Gingras, the answer is clear. “End the fight quickly and keep the sturgeon’s head in the water. Blood-chemistry studies show sturgeon become stressed from the fight and from being removed from the water, and tissue studies show stressed females that survive are less likely to spawn normally.”
Handling these behemoths with care is critical as they are essentially protected broodstock. These large fish will be important to carry California’s sturgeon populations through droughts and other challenges, as well as to build future generations of these incredible fish for tomorrow’s anglers.

they are as tough as tough can be..........i'm sure they'll survive some rough handling.

they are as tough as tough can be..........i'm sure they'll survive some rough handling.

  Yes you are correct these are really tough fish and can survive rough handling. That does not mean that they are not affected by gentle or rough handling practices. Like most fish being hooked, fought, subdued, photographed and hopefully released it is very stressful to the animal. The release of stress hormones, can but not always, cause reproductive failure as well as reduce the ability of the immune system to fight pathogens. This I know from raising white and green sturgeon for research at UC Davis for the last 30 years. These are magnificent animals (but aren't they all) and we need to do what we can to insure their presence in our local waters for future generations of fishers.  Enjoy them but take care of them while you admire what you have caught.  

AGREED!!.............thanks for the extra info!

If anyone is interested here are two links to UC Davis Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture (CABA). The first link is the home page for CABA and the second is for a seminar we are co-sponsoring on white and green sturgeon. This seminar is free and open to everyone not just academics...
 http://caba.ucdavis.edu/
http://caba.ucdavis.edu/sturgeon-in-the-sacramento-san-joaquin-watershed.-new-insights-to-support-conservation-and-management
 sorry have not figured how to make these work from this site...     

Hey   I guess they did work...hope to see some of you there..Cheers, its nearly time for beers

Good info, thanks Halibutboy!