White Sturgeon
At a glance
- Name: white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, also called Pacific sturgeon
- Native to: the Pacific coast of North America, from Alaska to Baja California
- Remember it by: it is the largest fish found in fresh water in North America
- Our caviars from this fish: California White Sturgeon Classic, California White Sturgeon Royal and Italian White Sturgeon
The story
The white sturgeon belongs to the American West. In coastal waters it ranges from Ensenada, Mexico, north to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, though most spend their lives in the great river systems of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, the Columbia and the Fraser.
It is a fish of remarkable size. A white sturgeon can grow past 20 feet long and weigh as much as 1,389 pounds. It can also live a very long time. The oldest on record was reported at 104 years, and in the lower Columbia River they often take around 25 years to mature.
Look closely and you'll see a blunt, rounded snout with four barbels in a row, and a line of 38 to 48 bony plates down each side. With no teeth, it feeds by pushing out its large lips and drawing food in from the river bottom.
Status in the wild
In 2022, the IUCN listed the white sturgeon as Vulnerable, up from Least Concern in 2010. Like all sturgeon, it is covered by CITES trade rules.
From this fish
All three of our white sturgeon caviars are farm-raised. California White Sturgeon Classic comes from California, California White Sturgeon Royal from California and Idaho, and Italian White Sturgeon from Italy.
One fish, two coasts of the world. Taste them side by side.