CONFIRMED RECORDS OF TWO GREEN STURGEON FROM THE BERING SEA AND GULF OF ALASKA

Abstract

In the spring of 2006, fisheries observers identified 2 Green Sturgeon specimens in Alaska waters: 1 in the Bering Sea and 1 in the western Gulf of Alaska. These occurrences are noteworthy because the northern range limit for Green Sturgeon is poorly documented, and specimens encountered in northern latitudes could be either North American Green Sturgeon (A. medirostris) or Asian Sakhalin Sturgeon (A. mikadoi). The specimen collected in the Bering Sea was destroyed, but several morphological characteristics were determined from photographs. The specimen from the Gulf of Alaska was collected and preserved. Morphometric and meristic data from this specimen were compared to published ranges of A. medirostris and A. mikadoi, as well as the published record of a Green Sturgeon reported from the western Bering Sea in 1953. These comparisons show that the specimen collected in the Gulf of Alaska is A. medirostris and suggest that the specimen reported over 50 y ago from the western Bering Sea also may have been A. medirostris. Because the specimen recently collected in the eastern Bering Sea was destroyed, its specific identification could not be determined. These findings highlight the need for additional documentation of sturgeon in Alaskan waters.