The composition of the spawning stock of sturgeon Acipenser gueldenstaedti Brandt and stellate sturgeon Acipenser stellatus Pallas on the spawning grounds in Akhtuba River
Veshchev, PV.
Voprosy Ichtiologii 19(2): 362-366
1979
ISSN/ISBN: 0042-8752 Accession: 021901766
A study was made in 1968-1974 of the qualitative composition of brood stock sturgeon A. guldenstadti Brandt and A. stellatus Pallas in spawning grounds of the Akhtuba River. The material collected (162 A. guldenstadti and 73 A. stellatus) was analyzed according to body length, total body weight, trunk weight, gender, weight of sex glands, age and fertility and these indices were then compared with indices for the same species of the Volga River. The majority of brood stock (81.5%) was composed of specimens ranging in age from 13-20 yr. Absolute fertility of A. guldenstadti females amounted to 187, 2,000 eggs, of A. stellatus 274, 4,000 eggs. A. guldenstadti males outnumbered females; in A. stellatus, females predominated over males. Comparative indices of size, weight and age indicated that the sturgeon and stellate sturgeon which travel to spawn in the Akhtuba River are on the average smaller and younger than their Volga counterparts.