Reasons for Decline: All of the 3,350 miles of riverine habitat within the pallid sturgeon's range have been adversely affected by man. Approximately 28% has been impounded, which has created unsuitable lake-like habitat; 51% has been channelized into deep, uniform channels; the remaining 21% is downstream of dams which have altered the river's hydrograph, temperature and turbidity. Commercial fishing and environmental contaminants may have also played a role in the pallid sturgeon's decline.
They were once a sporting fish and there have been programs to recover the fish through releases in the Missouri River.US Counties within South Dakota in which the Pallid sturgeon, Entire is known to or is believed to occur: (click here)
The current recovery plan was signed January 28, 2013 (click here)
These fish are known to live beyond 60 years old, grow to six feet in length and weight over 100 pounds. As game fish they are valued for their meat which is considerable at maturity.
The pallid sturgeon, an ancient species that has existed since the days of the dinosaurs, is also one of the most poorly known and infrequently seen freshwater fishes in North American. It was listed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as endangered on September 6, 1990, in accordance with provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. Similar in appearance to the shovelnose sturgeon, the pallid has a flattened and shovel-shaped snout and is distinguished by pale, bony plates instead of scales, a reptile-like body, a sucker-type mouth and large barbels (whisker-like growths next to it’s mouth). The barbels, used to sense the river bottom and identify prey, allow the protrusible, vacuum cleaner-like mouth to quickly capture it. Prey consists of aquatic insects successfully fed goldfish, crayfish, and minnows.
