Ron Laidman was walking along a path overlooking the San Juan River, near Port Renfrew, last month when a movement in the water caught his eye.

害羞草研究所淚t was a big slow circle in the water,害羞草研究所� he said.

He was confident he knew what it was right away, and once home, confirmed it: a green sturgeon.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a pretty rare phenomenon when you do see them. I害羞草研究所檝e never seen [sturgeon] in the river,害羞草研究所� said Laidman, owner of Remote Renfrew Riverside Retreat.

Over the next week, he spotted three separate green sturgeon 害羞草研究所� ranging in size from one to three metres 害羞草研究所� in the San Juan River estuary.

The fish is only found along the west coast of North America, from Alaska to California. They are protected under Canada害羞草研究所檚 Species at Risk Act.

Green sturgeon sightings are rare along the B.C. coast, the federal Fisheries Department said in an email statement. 害羞草研究所淓very few years,害羞草研究所� mostly in the spring, they害羞草研究所檙e spotted in the Gold, Sooke and San Juan river systems.

They are a long-lived, slow-growing fish, and are vulnerable to many stressors and threats, including blocked access to spawning grounds and habitat degradation.

Green sturgeon are an anadromous fish, which means they can live in both fresh and saltwater. They have a relatively complex life history that includes the spawning and juvenile rearing in rivers followed by migrating to saltwater to feed, grow, and mature before returning to freshwater to spawn.

They are smaller than their larger cousins, the white sturgeon, growing to about 2.3 metres and generally range in colour from olive to dark green.

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