Show Sturgeon Catch Dwindling Away Caviar Disappearing From Gourmets Gourmet's Table THE THE STURGEON old aristocrat ol 01 1 the earths earth's salt and fresh waterways water ways is swimming toward tion A lone sturgeon recently boated off aU England's southeast coast wa was the first caught there in 50 years The catch only serves to emphasize the fact that the fish has become become be be- come so rare today as to be a novelty in a large part of the world Only in Russia Russia along along that nations nation's cold northern rivers and in the Black Caspian and seas seas are are sturgeon fisheries still of greal value In North America the few remaining remain ing lag sturgeon are caught largely fo for foi sport Their eggs from which the finest caviar is made are seldom found on the commercial market Waste brought on the scarcity fox for forthe the continent abounded with sturgeon geon the geon-the the Atlantic lake and white or Columbia River varieties varieties prior to the century The Chesapeake Bay sturgeon catch of ot 1890 for example was wa estimated at pounds by 1920 it had dropped to pounds In New England where the first sturgeon fishery was established it ic 1628 the catch dropped from 20 20 pounds in 1919 1019 to a mere pounds in 1935 Today the status ol 0 the fish is closely watched by conservation conservation con authorities Most species of the big fish fish fish- which range to 12 feet and ever longer longer live live in hi salt water much mch ol 0 the year leaving it only to voyagE voyage up fresh rivers to spawn in sprint spring or early summer Some of the 20 odd known species however car live entirely in fresh water liki Ilk those of the Great Lakes |