Adult fish and older juveniles are commonly found in estuaries and marine environments. In North America, green sturgeon are found from Ensenada, Mexico, to Southeast Alaska. Green sturgeon are not abundant in any estuaries along the Pacific coast, although they are caught incidentally in the estuaries by the white sturgeon fishery. Green sturgeon rely on streams, rivers, and estuarine habitat as well as marine waters during their lifecycle. The fertilized eggs sink and attach to the bottom to hatch.
Research indicates that water flow is one of the key determinants of larval survival.
As a result, water diversions for municipal and industrial uses, irrigation projects, and power generation projects that reduce the amount of water in the rivers can negatively impact green sturgeon. Accumulation of PCBs and other contaminants can also reduce sturgeon survival. Feeding on algae and small invertebrates while young, green sturgeon migrate downstream before they are two years old. Juveniles remain in the estuaries for a short time and migrate to the ocean as they grow larger. Adult green sturgeon feed on benthic invertebrates and small fish.