METHODS
Study sites.—Field work took place in six river systems in
North Carolina and South Carolina (Figure 1). Systems were
chosen based on available information about the status ofsturgeon populations or the potential for presence of sturgeon
in that system. Five of the rivers were located in the Carolina
DPS (Roanoke, Neuse, Cape Fear, Pee Dee, and Santee) while
the sixth was located in the South Atlantic DPS (Edisto). The
Tar River was the only Carolina DPS river excluded from the
survey, based on smaller size (Oakley and Hightower 2007)
and lack of recent anecdotal evidence of sturgeon. Mark–
recapture studies or other types of sturgeon population studies
have not been performed on these systems.