Caught primarily for their unfertilized eggs, which are processed to yield caviar, sturgeons and paddlefishes are particularly vulnerable to overfishing. |
Within the Chondrostei, only sturgeons, bichirs and paddlefishes survive today, and many are threatened. |
Also, being closely related to sturgeons, American paddlefish produce highly coveted roe, or caviar. |
American paddlefish are mainly freshwater fish but can survive in brackish water. |
American paddlefish are predators of zooplankton and prey to other fishes, birds, and humans. |