So, being married I spent part of my day off with the wife at Costco. They have fresh sturgeon filets $7.99 a pound. Didn't buy any but wondered if they are tribal caught?

If they're local, then I'd guess they were caught in the LCR commercial fishery.

Fish on...

Todd

Tribal gillnets boats are out on the Chehalis in the mornings on a regular basis as I head to work. These are the drift net guys, not the reef netters, and it is teh drift guys who tend to get the majority of teh sturgeon.

Yeah this didn't say farmed though and they usually do when it's farmed. They looked real fresh. Nice color and nice filets and it was tempting but I refuse to buy what I can catch.

They have been commercially culturing sturgeon since about 1980. At first they artifically spawn wild fish and raise the resulting fry. The first brood fish were captured on the Columbia. The eggs from the females were surgically removed and the female released.

It was not too long until the cultured males were successfully used as brood fish but it was some time before the industry was able to succesfully used cultured females as brood fish. I believe that there currently are several "farms" in California that produce fresh fillets and cavier. Don't kow how widely those products are marketed.

The knowledge from the development of that industry has been used to provide young sturgeon in several areas in the upper Columbia and tribs where white sturgeon populations have struggled.

It would interesting to know if those costco fish were farmed or not? I will have to check out the fish department and ask a question or two the next time the wife and I shop there.

Tight lines
Curt

A quick Google search showed several listings for sturgeon caviar at Costco, and that it was from farmed sturgeon...I guess it's not conclusive, but it wouldn't be much of a leap to think that the same farmed fish providing the caviar are providing the fillets.

Fish on...

Todd

Yeah but isn't it the law that if it's farmed it has to say so?

Dunno. There's no sturgeon available at costco.com, so I couldn't find the product online.

Fish on...

Todd

You can buy live sturgeon at Great Wall Mall.

might be the from the nets but who knows?

I know that they have been netting up here on the north end and some of the guys are pretty upset about it!

We do not know where these fish are going but have been working on finding out.

More information should be forthcoming in the near future.....


Fishy