fast currents, with observed depths of , and water velocities at the bottom on a range of 0.6-2.4 m/sec. When eggs are released by the female, they are negatively buoyant, and develop an adhesive coat upon contact with water, which allows them to attach to the substrate near where they were spawned. Hatching time is temperature dependent, and can range from 3–13 days. Optimal temperature is between , with mortality observed below and above . Importance to humans White sturgeon are a resource to a variety of different social and economic groups around the world. Aquaculture facilities cultivate white sturgeon in California and juveniles can be sold to aquarists. They were once the main food source for First Nations people in the 1800s, until overfishing by commercial fleets for caviar drove them to near extinction by the early 1900s. Besides their meat, other important economic products associated with caught sturgeon are caviar, isinglass, and oil. While selling a wild white sturgeon and eggs is illegal in California, it is legal to buy legal caviar from California White sturgeon farms. Poaching is an ongoing issue, in which caviar can sell on the black market for 100-150 dollars a pound, while a consumer buying legally made caviar from California sturgeon farms pays anywhere from 40-700 dollars for an ounce. White sturgeon also play a role in sport fishing in the Pacific Northwest, while closed to retention in the Columbia River Basin, catch and release fishing is allowed, with enough popularity for guiding services to offer fishing trips targeted specifically at white sturgeon. Conservation status Trends in white sturgeon abundance has been monitored in California for decades, with data showing large variations in recruitment, including 5 or more consecutive years of low or no recruitment, with probable cause being due to low flows during winter and/or spring months. Although some present white sturgeon populations have been reduced over the past 30 years, some population trends in California are promising, resulting in new angling regulations, monitoring, research efforts, fish passage and habitat restoration. Despite being a relatively robust population that includes tens of thousands of sub-adults and adults, management is complicated due to exposure of pollutants, freshwater and estuary alteration, harvest, and because of its long life span, which can mask detection of reproductive success. NatureServe ranks white sturgeon globally secure, but imperiled in California due to anthropogenic impacts on their habitats. The American