When sexual maturation is reached white sturgeons spawn at intervals of 4-7 years. Spawning occurs during the summer months of May and June. The habitat for spawning is a rocky bottom in a swift current near rapids. The eggs contain a yolk and are brown and sticky. The white sturgeon was harvested heavily in the 1890 s when an average of 2.6 million kg were harvested each year, largely by set line.
Sturgeons are also valuable for their roe which is sold as caviar.
Their gas bladder is used to make isinglass, a transparent type of glue. In Idaho the Snake River has 12 dams confining white sturgeons. The large size of sturgeons and commercial value of meat, roe and swim bladders has caused many species to be listed as endangered. Pollution and overfishing, legal or illegal, also effects the numbers of sturgeons negatively. However, the value and reproductive habitats of sturgeon has made it possible to culture them.