Columbia River Sturgeon Conundrum Baffles Experts

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A large congregation of approximately 60,000 white sturgeon was discovered in the Columbia River, raising questions among experts about their unusual behavior. While some speculate that this phenomenon could be related to mating, safety in numbers, or temperature regulation, it is noted that biologists have previously observed sturgeon gathering in smaller groups. The sighting has sparked curiosity and humor, with discussions about the potential for injury from these large fish and the need for sturgeon-related recipes. The event highlights a behavior that, while not entirely unknown, has not been documented at this scale before.
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Big ball of sturgeon in Columbia River baffles experts

...The mountain of white sturgeon contained around 60,000 fish, according to a rough estimate by Michael Parsley, a research fisheries biologist with the U.S.

...The lingering question is: What were all the fish doing there?
http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/05/big_ball_of_columbia_river_stu.html
 
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A sturgeon party and we were not invited?
 
Auditioning for the chance to be a PF greeter!
 
My husband has informed me of his sighting of masses of sturgeon in the Grand River, here in MI. Nothing anywhere near that amount, but he said perhaps several hundred, and noted its a much smaller river.
I wonder if the PF insurance would cover a injury due to a sturgeon wack?
 
hypatia said:
I wonder if the PF insurance would cover a injury due to a sturgeon wack?
I would be more concerned about the PF sisters blowing out their disks even just trying to pick up one of those monsters. Some of the largest can easily grow to thousands of pounds.
 
hypatia said:
My husband has informed me of his sighting of masses of sturgeon in the Grand River, here in MI. Nothing anywhere near that amount, but he said perhaps several hundred, and noted its a much smaller river.

Interesting! We have a second account of behavior that apparently was previously unknown to science.
 
My first thought was of garter snakes, who gather in large groups for mating.
 
Grasshopper. What is the sound of one sturgeon swarming?

by the way, I am on th look-out for recipes for sturgeon ball soup.
 
Last edited:
Ivan Seeking said:
Interesting! We have a second account of behavior that apparently was previously unknown to science.

Was it entirely unknown? The article gave the impression the behaviour had been seen before, just not on this scale

"Biologists have heard reports of congregations of sturgeon at the surface of reservoirs and rivers, including shallow parts of the Columbia."
 
  • #10
Sure enough. The report I saw made it sound like a complete mystery and I didn't read the entire report linked.
 
  • #11
lisab said:
My first thought was of garter snakes, who gather in large groups for mating.


And hippies.
 
  • #12
Several things popped into my mind as possibilities when reading the article:
1) Mating (not sure what's known about sturgeon mating and if this could be part of it).
2) Safety in numbers while dormant or hibernating of some sort.
3) Some sort of insulation from colder water temperatures...at least for those in the middle.
4) Don't know how to swim through the dam but sure are trying.

I'd love to see some of the pictures of the sturgeon ball.
 

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