RELATING SWIMMING PERFORMANCE OF LAKE STURGEON, ACIPENSER-FULVESCENS,TO FISHWAY DESIGN

Fishways have traditionally been designed to provide safe passage for jumping fish and only recently have nonjumping species been considered . Concern over dwindling populations of lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulve scens, has focused attention on fishway designs that accommodate its s wimming abilities. The objective of this study was to derive a model t hat relates swimming endurance of lake sturgeon to length and flow cha racteristics of fishways. Endurance at sustained and prolonged swimmin g speeds (those maintainable for more than 20 s) increased with water temperature but was independent of temperature at higher burst speeds. Endurance increased with total length at all swimming velocities. Swi mming performance of lake sturgeon, relative to body length, is inferi or to that of most salmonids, particularly at burst speeds. Fishway de signers need to consider swimming ability, space requirements, and beh avior of lake sturgeon to ensure that they can ascend potential migrat ory obstacles safely.