The most important member of this family, the European sturgeon, currently lives (although there are very few of them) in the Gironde area of France and along its coastline. It used to be found in most French rivers and coasts, even in the Mediterranean. It is farmed (especially in the Gironde area) for its caviar. The European sturgeon can carry out long migrations (more than 1,000km!) to spawn.

The Atlantic sturgeon lives on the east coast of the United States, but some have recently been identified in the Gironde area where it has apparently been living for thousands of years.