The good: -In the last days we obtained roughly 90.000 sterlet eggs from two wild females, fertilized by two wild males. All assumptions made in the field in the sex of the fish proved to be correct again (males way smaller and lighter coloration, skinny large fish all proved to be females not reproducing this year). All four fish were released healthy back to the river.
The Bad:
Two more females did not respond to hormonal stimulation and were released after several trials. We would have liked to have their genetics as well for a future broodstock but it was not to be, and better to release them then handling them for too long. Dr sturgeon’s gut says that with our rate of recapturing fish a second and third time in two thirds of the animals, chances are high we may get a second chance in the next years.