"O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches" (Psa. 104:24).
Unlike the huge fish in South America's warm waters, sturgeons prefer the colder northern waters. They are found mostly in Russia and nearby points of Europe, a few Oriental countries, Canada and the United States.
Olive-green or bluish-gray in their top covering, they are not very attractive, but are certainly unusual. Twelve rows of silvery knobs, looking like the teeth of a big saw, stretch down their backs. They also have helmets of bony plates covering their heads, tapering down to pointed noses, below which four, pink, worm-like barbels dangle. When feeding, they push their snouts into the mush of the ocean floor and the barbels feel out their food while their mouths pucker up like funnels to take in fish, crabs and other shellfish.
Only a few varieties become greater than 100 pounds, and some of these are the giants of the fish world. In America the big ones are usually found in West Coast rivers, such as the Fraser, the Columbia and the Sacramento. The all-time-record catch weighed almost a ton (2000 pounds) and was 18 feet long! However, that was several years ago. Now it is unusual to find one weighing more than 1000 pounds, but even that is twice as heavy as a big gorilla! How would you like to have one of these huge fish on your fishing line? In springtime the adults migrate from the ocean into rivers. The females, heavy with thousands of eggs, swim upstream until they find a place to lay them. These masses of eggs stick to rocks and plants until in about two weeks they hatch out. At the end of summer, when the young fish have grown almost a foot long, they migrate downstream and out into the ocean. Only a small number actually make it since other fish eat many of the eggs as well as all the little fish they can catch.
There is always a good market for sturgeon meat, but even more so for the tasty eggs which are called caviar-a pound of which sells for as much as $800. At that price, most people cannot afford them, so they are served mostly in fancy restaurants or on the tables of the wealthy.
It was on the fifth day of creation that God formed the creatures of the sea-from the tiniest to the largest-and the sea creatures of today are just like those He placed in the waters thousands of years ago.
Do not be misled by those who teach evolution and speak as if the world's interesting creatures just happened to form themselves. Instead, enjoy God's invitation: "But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create" (Isa. 65:1818But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. (Isaiah 65:18)).