The lower Fraser River white sturgeon population is complex and poorly understood, with portions of the population being found at varying times and seasons in the marine environment, large lakes and flowing sections of rivers. Sturgeon in this area are listed as threatened under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, and face threats such as poaching, habitat destruction and loss of prey. Yet beyond mandatory catch-and-release fishing, there are few regulations on angling activity. 

In collaboration with the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, this study aimed to fill knowledge gaps about sturgeon movements and reproductive patterns and investigate the effects of stress from capture by angling on survival rates.

Starting in 2013, researchers tagged 174 adult sturgeon with long-life acoustic transmitters and took blood samples to assess their stress levels at the time of capture. Nearly all of the acoustically tagged fish were detected at multiple locations after release, many travelling more than 125 kilometres to occupy known or suspected spawning channels. Results indicated a high recapture rate in the fishery, but also suggest rapid recovery from stress and high post-release survival. Many fish were recaptured by anglers more than once. 

The project directly contributed to federal management by gathering data on key aspects of sturgeon biology and movement, and advising fishers and fisheries managers on post-angling mortality. It also identified areas and times of year when sturgeon were most susceptible to disturbance and stress. The use of long-life acoustic transmitters in this study will allow monitoring to occur well beyond 2018.