> I also found info on white sturgeon aquaculture for caviar:
>
> http://markys.com/caviar_farmed.htm
>
> Here's an article on assessing the risks of sturgeon aquaculture in Florida:
>
> http://www.floridaaquaculture.com/publications/sturgeon.pdf
>
>
> Moon -
> I expect that you have seen this site:
>
Yeah, I've seen the sterlet aquaculture in Florida. Of all the places to
culture an exotic fish Florida has proved to be among the most vulnerable to
floods from hurricanes. It would appear to be another case of the fisheries
department ignoring the risks of accidental introduction of an exotic fish. The sad
thing is that the sterlet would be in direct competition with the Atlantic
Shortnose Sturgeon. That is why the State of NC banned sterlets from culture or
sale. http://www.mckenzieco.com/fish.html is the guy who will not sell me
shovelnose sturgeon in reasonable amounts because he is afraid I will make a huge
profit selling them on aquabid. Sterlets have recently been released into the
pet trade from hatcheries in Florida. the following statement from this PDF page
pretty much says it all.
http://www.floridaaquaculture.com/publications/sturgeon.pdf (page 40)
"The idea of introducing organisms into Florida has a long distinctive
history among all the states of the union (Simberloff 1997) Florida is, with the
possible exception of Hawaii, the state most impacted by non-indigenous species.
Although some introductions have been accidental, the prevailing belief in
Florida in the past century has been that the natural situation could be vastly
improved by the intentional addition of new organisms. The reasons for this
predilection to introductions are many but my include the benign tropical climate
that accommodates a great diversity of exotic biota, a limited native fauna
because of it's insularity and extensive aquatic habitats (Simberloff 1997). In
addition, a steady stream of diverse people with new ideas is continually
entering the state (page 40)
Statements like this do not make me feel any better about growing exotic
fish that could compete directly with an endangered native species. Much less
spreading these exotics out into the pet trade.
http://markys.com/caviar_farmed.htm is probably where the white sturgeon fingerlings that are being sold into
the pet trade are coming from.
Michael
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