In 1607 Captain Christopher Newport wrote “The main river (James) abounds with sturgeon, very large and excellent good…” Sturgeon regularly reached more than fifteen feet in length and could easily weigh up to 800 pounds. Sadly, today the Atlantic Sturgeon is considered threatened, endangered or extinct in many of its original habitats.
The Atlantic Sturgeon is found along the Atlantic coast from New Brunswick, Canada to the east coast of Florida. This bony, bottom-feeding fish is believed to have originated at least 70 million years ago, making it one of the oldest fish species in the world, and one of the first “cash” crops from Jamestown, Virginia. A 2007 study of the James River, part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, found only 175 sturgeon living in the entire river and just 15 over five feet in length.
If the life span of these fish can top 30 years for adult males and for 60 years for adult females where did they go? It takes 10 or more years for the fish to mature, and then the females only spawn once every 2 to 6 years. While they mainly live in salt water, they travel to freshwater or brackish rivers to spawn in April and May. Many of their breeding grounds have been destroyed or polluted, but the main reason they disappeared is overfishing. Once the market for sturgeon meat, caviar (sturgeon eggs) and isinglass (finally we get to the topic!) was discovered the fish population was no match for their voracious human predators.
And isinglass is…the inner membrane of the sturgeon’s swim bladder… an almost pure gelatin substance. (Curiously, the name sturgeon comes from Middle Dutch hūsblase : [hūs, sturgeon + blase, bladder.] In the 1700’s, before gelatin from hooves and horns was discovered, isinglass was an important product for making dessert jelly or blancmange and also for clarifying wine and beer. For use in cooking it needed to be softened overnight before it could be added to other ingredients. Today isinglass is manufactured in Russia, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, the West Indies, and the Philippines. It is still used in the brewing industry to remove yeast and sediment from cask-conditioned beers and ales. Isinglass is also used to repair parchment and in glues and cements. So, if you are fortunate enough to see a sturgeon swimming by thank it for its contribution to our history and let it be.
The Atlantic Sturgeon is found along the Atlantic coast from New Brunswick, Canada to the east coast of Florida. This bony, bottom-feeding fish is believed to have originated at least 70 million years ago, making it one of the oldest fish species in the world, and one of the first “cash” crops from Jamestown, Virginia. A 2007 study of the James River, part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, found only 175 sturgeon living in the entire river and just 15 over five feet in length.
If the life span of these fish can top 30 years for adult males and for 60 years for adult females where did they go? It takes 10 or more years for the fish to mature, and then the females only spawn once every 2 to 6 years. While they mainly live in salt water, they travel to freshwater or brackish rivers to spawn in April and May. Many of their breeding grounds have been destroyed or polluted, but the main reason they disappeared is overfishing. Once the market for sturgeon meat, caviar (sturgeon eggs) and isinglass (finally we get to the topic!) was discovered the fish population was no match for their voracious human predators.
And isinglass is…the inner membrane of the sturgeon’s swim bladder… an almost pure gelatin substance. (Curiously, the name sturgeon comes from Middle Dutch hūsblase : [hūs, sturgeon + blase, bladder.] In the 1700’s, before gelatin from hooves and horns was discovered, isinglass was an important product for making dessert jelly or blancmange and also for clarifying wine and beer. For use in cooking it needed to be softened overnight before it could be added to other ingredients. Today isinglass is manufactured in Russia, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, the West Indies, and the Philippines. It is still used in the brewing industry to remove yeast and sediment from cask-conditioned beers and ales. Isinglass is also used to repair parchment and in glues and cements. So, if you are fortunate enough to see a sturgeon swimming by thank it for its contribution to our history and let it be.
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