Biology, Management, and Protection of North American Sturgeon

Abstract

<em>Abstract.</em>—Shortnose sturgeon <em>Acipenser brevirostrum</em> have been reported in Cooper River, South Carolina, and upstream of it’s hydroelectric dam and navigation lock in the Santee-Cooper lake system. The navigation lock has been used for decades to pass anadromous Alosa spp. upstream, but use of the lock by shortnose sturgeon to pass the dam has been undetected. We studied the effectiveness of the lock to pass shortnose sturgeon and the behavior of shortnose sturgeon in the tailrace of the hydroelectric facility over a five-year period. Fixed station radio telemetry was used to record movement of 48 shortnose sturgeon with internally-implanted transmitters and 24 shortnose sturgeon with externally-attached transmitters. Shortnose sturgeon tended to congregate in a small area approximately 100 m downstream of the dam. Residence time in the tailrace averaged 30.1 d after being released. Fifty percent of the tagged fish returned the following year, but residence time was much shorter (×= 13.0 d) with 65% of these fish staying less than five days. Eighty-three percent of internally tagged fish entered the lock, with individual fish entering an average of 7.4 times. However, none passed from the lock into the upstream lake.