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Atlantic sturgeon

April 08, 2024

For the Atlantic sturgeon from Europe (except the Baltic region), see European sea sturgeon.

The Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) is a member of the family Acipenseridae, and, along with other sturgeon, it is sometimes considered a living fossil. The Atlantic sturgeon is one of two subspecies of A. oxyrinchus, the other being the Gulf sturgeon (A. o. desotoi). The main range of the Atlantic sturgeon is in eastern North America, extending from New Brunswick, Canada, to the eastern coast of Florida, United States. A disjunct population occurs in the Baltic region of Europe (today only through a reintroduction project). The Atlantic sturgeon was in great abundance when the first European settlers came to North America, but has since declined due to overfishing, water pollution, and habitat impediments such as dams.[3] It is considered threatened, endangered, and even locally extinct in many of its original habitats. The fish can reach 60 years of age, 15 ft (4.6 m) in length and over 800 lb (360 kg) in weight.[4]

Atlantic sturgeon

Vulnerable  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acipenseriformes
Family: Acipenseridae
Genus: Acipenser
Species:
A. oxyrinchus
Subspecies:
A. o. oxyrinchus
Trinomial name
Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus
Mitchill, 1815

Physical appearance edit

 
Aquarium du Québec

Rather than having true scales, the Atlantic sturgeon has five rows of bony plates known as scutes. Specimens weighing over 800 lb and nearly 15 ft in length have been recorded, but they typically grow to be 6–8 ft (1.8–2.4 m) and no more than 300 lb (140 kg). Its coloration ranges from bluish-black and olive green on its back to white on its underside. It has a longer snout than other sturgeons and has four barbels at the side of its mouth.[5]

Lifecycle edit

Atlantic sturgeon under six years of age stay in the brackish water where they were born before moving into the ocean. They may be 3–5 ft (0.91–1.52 m) long at this stage. In areas where shortnose sturgeon are also present, the adults of that species can be, and historically were for centuries, confused with immature Atlantic sturgeon. When mature, they travel upstream to spawn. The females may lay 800,000 to 3.75 million eggs in a single year, doing so every two to six years. After laying their eggs, females travel back downstream, but males may remain upstream after spawning until forced to return downstream by the increasingly cold water. They may even return to the ocean, where they stay near the coastline.[citation needed]

The species is also known for its occasional 'leaping' behavior, during which the fish will emerge completely out of the water in a forceful motion that can be hazardous to anything unlucky enough to be struck.[6][7] The exact reason why sturgeon leap remains unknown, although some scholars believe leaping is a form of group communication. In one study, of a population of the species in the Suwannee river in northwestern Florida, leaping behavior was found to vary seasonally, with the highest frequency of occurrence in June.[8]

Economic history edit

Originally, the Atlantic sturgeon was considered a worthless fish. Its rough skin would often rip nets, keeping fishermen from catching more profitable fish. Sturgeon were one of the types of fish harvested at the first North American commercial fishery, and were the first cash "crop" harvested in Jamestown, Virginia.[citation needed] Other fisheries along the Atlantic coast harvested them for use as food, a leather material used in clothing and bookbinding, and isinglass, a gelatinous substance used in clarifying jellies, glues, wines and beer. However, the primary reason for catching sturgeon was the high-quality caviar that could be made cheaply from its eggs, called black gold by watermen. In the late 19th century, seven million pounds of sturgeon meat were exported from the US per year. Within years, however, that amount dropped to 22,000 pounds. The number later rose to about 200,000 pounds a year in the 1950s.[citation needed]

Conservation status edit

In February 2012, the Atlantic sturgeon was listed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).[9] Four distinct population segments (DPSs) were listed as endangered (New York Bight, Chesapeake Bay, Carolina, and South Atlantic) while one DPS was listed as threatened (Gulf of Maine).[10] As of this writing (July 22, 2015) there are concerns that the construction of the bridge to replace the Tappan Zee connecting Rockland County to Westchester County in New York, in the Hudson River, may impact the sturgeon's ecological stability.[11]

The American Fisheries Society considers the fish as threatened throughout its entire range, although it is believed to no longer inhabit the full range it once did. In the Chesapeake watershed, the James River in Virginia is one of the last confirmed holdouts for that region's population. In May 2007, a survey captured 175 sturgeon in the river, with 15 specimens exceeding 5 ft (1.5 m).[12] A bounty-based survey of live Atlantic sturgeon in Maryland's portion of the bay found a high number of captures reported in 2005–06.[13][14]

In 2016, the National Marine Fisheries Service considered designating sixteen rivers as endangered habitat, which would require more attention to be given to uses of the rivers that affect the fish.[15] Then in 2018, NMFS actually mapped a total of thirty-one critical river habitats along the United States' Atlantic shores.[16]

Baltic population edit

The now nearly extinct sturgeon population in the Baltic Sea area belongs to the Atlantic sturgeon A. oxyrinchus rather than to the European species A. sturio as had been thought. A. oxyrinchus migrated to the Baltic about 1300 years ago and displaced the native A. sturio.[17]

The last known specimen of the Atlantic sturgeon in the Baltic region was caught in 1996 near Muhumaa in Estonia. It was 2.9 m (9.5 ft) long, weighed 136 kg (300 lb), and was estimated to be about 50 years old.[18]

A German-Polish project was underway in 2009 to reintroduce the sturgeon into the Baltic by releasing specimens caught in the Canadian Saint John River into the Oder, a river at the border between Germany and Poland where the species once spawned.[19] The project expanded in 2013 to include Estonia, where one-year-old juveniles were released into the Narva River.[20]

Conservation designation edit

IUCN: Vulnerable[1]

CITES: Appendix II[21]

The American Fisheries Society considers it endangered in all stream systems except conservation-dependent in the Hudson, Delaware, and Altamaha Rivers.[citation needed]

The Atlantic sturgeon of the Delaware River are listed under the ESA as part of the New York Bight distinct population segment (DPS),[22][23] which includes all Atlantic sturgeon that spawn in watersheds draining to coastal waters from Chatham, Massachusetts, to the Delaware-Maryland border on Fenwick Island,[23]: 5881  the Chesapeake Bay DPS, the Carolina DPS and the South Atlantic DPS, while the Gulf of Maine DPS is listed threatened.[22][23] Canadian-origin populations are not currently listed under the U.S. ESA.[22] NMFS believes fewer than 300 spawning adults are in the Delaware River population; just over 100 years ago the estimated population was 180,000 spawning adult females.[citation needed]

Management edit

Atlantic sturgeon are now a threatened species. Management of the species is largely based on the restriction of fishing of the species. This helps limit fishing mortalities of sturgeon to bycatch.[24]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Hilton, E.; Fox, D. (2022). "Acipenser oxyrinchus ssp. oxyrinchus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T243A95763750. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T243A95763750.en. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  2. ^ NatureServe (3 March 2023). "Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  3. ^ Fisheries, NOAA (2021-01-19). "Atlantic Sturgeon | NOAA Fisheries". NOAA. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
  4. ^ Schultz, Ken (2004). Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Freshwater Fish. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-62865-1.
  5. ^ "Acipenser oxyrinchus Mitchill, 1815 Atlantic sturgeon". FishBase. FishBase consortium. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Maryland Fish Facts". Maryland.gov. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  7. ^ "Florida girl killed by jumping sturgeon". FloridaToday.com. Associated Press. 6 July 2015 [Originally published 4 July 2015]. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  8. ^ Sulak, K. J.; Edwards, R. E.; Hill, G. W.; Randall, M. T. (17 December 2002). "Why do sturgeons jump? Insights from acoustic investigations of the Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River, Florida, USA". Journal of Applied Ichthyology. 18 (4–6): 617–620. doi:10.1046/j.1439-0426.2002.00401.x.
  9. ^ Eilperin, Juliet (1 February 2012). "Atlantic sturgeon listed as endangered species". Washington Post. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  10. ^ NMFS. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Listing Determinations for Two Distinct Population Segments of Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) in the Southeast.Federal Register;; v77, (February 6, 2012), 5914-5982.
  11. ^ "Group Petitions to Save a Prehistoric Fish From Modern Construction" article by Lisa W. Foderaro in The New York Times July 21, 2015
  12. ^ Karl Blankenship (September 2007). . Chesapeake Bay Journal. Archived from the original on 2010-12-13. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  13. ^ "Maryland Department of Natural Resources (2007?). Reward for Live Sturgeon. Accessed 8 August 2008.
  14. ^ . Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 2010-01-04. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  15. ^ "Feds Move to Protect Endangered Atlantic Sturgeon in Delaware River - NJ Spotlight". NJSpotlight.com. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  16. ^ "Atlantic Sturgeon Critical Habitat" (PDF). January 16, 2018.
  17. ^ Ludwig, A; Arndt, U; Lippold, S; Benecke, N; Debus, L; King, T. L.; Matsumura, S (2008). "Tracing the first steps of American sturgeon pioneers in Europe". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 8: 221. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-8-221. PMC 2527320. PMID 18664258.
  18. ^ . Saarlane.ee (in Estonian). Archived from the original on October 17, 2013.
  19. ^ Germany, SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg (2006-10-31). "European Wildlife: Bringing the Sturgeon Back to Germany - SPIEGEL ONLINE - International". Spiegel.de. Retrieved March 28, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Eesti meres ujuvad taas tuurad". Maaleht (in Estonian). 18 October 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  21. ^ "Appendices I, II and III". CITES. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  22. ^ a b c "Species Directory: Atlantic Sturgeon". NOAA Fisheries. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  23. ^ a b c 77 FR 5880
  24. ^ Fisheries, NOAA (2022-10-27). "Action Plan to Reduce Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch in Federal Large Mesh Gillnet Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries". NOAA. Retrieved 2023-11-17.

Further reading edit

  • New York State Department of Environmental Conservation - New York's Sturgeon 2016-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
  • Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2008). "Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus" in FishBase. October 2008 version.
  • Burroughs, Frank [August 2006]. Confluence: Merrymeeting Bay. Gardiner, Maine: Tilbury House, 21-28. ISBN 978-0-88448-282-6.

April 08, 2024
atlantic, sturgeon, from, europe, except, baltic, region, european, sturgeon, acipenser, oxyrinchus, oxyrinchus, member, family, acipenseridae, along, with, other, sturgeon, sometimes, considered, living, fossil, subspecies, oxyrinchus, other, being, gulf, stu. For the Atlantic sturgeon from Europe except the Baltic region see European sea sturgeon The Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus is a member of the family Acipenseridae and along with other sturgeon it is sometimes considered a living fossil The Atlantic sturgeon is one of two subspecies of A oxyrinchus the other being the Gulf sturgeon A o desotoi The main range of the Atlantic sturgeon is in eastern North America extending from New Brunswick Canada to the eastern coast of Florida United States A disjunct population occurs in the Baltic region of Europe today only through a reintroduction project The Atlantic sturgeon was in great abundance when the first European settlers came to North America but has since declined due to overfishing water pollution and habitat impediments such as dams 3 It is considered threatened endangered and even locally extinct in many of its original habitats The fish can reach 60 years of age 15 ft 4 6 m in length and over 800 lb 360 kg in weight 4 Atlantic sturgeonConservation statusVulnerable IUCN 3 1 1 Vulnerable NatureServe 2 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ActinopterygiiOrder AcipenseriformesFamily AcipenseridaeGenus AcipenserSpecies A oxyrinchusSubspecies A o oxyrinchusTrinomial nameAcipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchusMitchill 1815 Contents 1 Physical appearance 2 Lifecycle 3 Economic history 4 Conservation status 5 Baltic population 6 Conservation designation 7 Management 8 References 9 Further readingPhysical appearance edit nbsp Aquarium du QuebecRather than having true scales the Atlantic sturgeon has five rows of bony plates known as scutes Specimens weighing over 800 lb and nearly 15 ft in length have been recorded but they typically grow to be 6 8 ft 1 8 2 4 m and no more than 300 lb 140 kg Its coloration ranges from bluish black and olive green on its back to white on its underside It has a longer snout than other sturgeons and has four barbels at the side of its mouth 5 Lifecycle editAtlantic sturgeon under six years of age stay in the brackish water where they were born before moving into the ocean They may be 3 5 ft 0 91 1 52 m long at this stage In areas where shortnose sturgeon are also present the adults of that species can be and historically were for centuries confused with immature Atlantic sturgeon When mature they travel upstream to spawn The females may lay 800 000 to 3 75 million eggs in a single year doing so every two to six years After laying their eggs females travel back downstream but males may remain upstream after spawning until forced to return downstream by the increasingly cold water They may even return to the ocean where they stay near the coastline citation needed The species is also known for its occasional leaping behavior during which the fish will emerge completely out of the water in a forceful motion that can be hazardous to anything unlucky enough to be struck 6 7 The exact reason why sturgeon leap remains unknown although some scholars believe leaping is a form of group communication In one study of a population of the species in the Suwannee river in northwestern Florida leaping behavior was found to vary seasonally with the highest frequency of occurrence in June 8 Economic history editOriginally the Atlantic sturgeon was considered a worthless fish Its rough skin would often rip nets keeping fishermen from catching more profitable fish Sturgeon were one of the types of fish harvested at the first North American commercial fishery and were the first cash crop harvested in Jamestown Virginia citation needed Other fisheries along the Atlantic coast harvested them for use as food a leather material used in clothing and bookbinding and isinglass a gelatinous substance used in clarifying jellies glues wines and beer However the primary reason for catching sturgeon was the high quality caviar that could be made cheaply from its eggs called black gold by watermen In the late 19th century seven million pounds of sturgeon meat were exported from the US per year Within years however that amount dropped to 22 000 pounds The number later rose to about 200 000 pounds a year in the 1950s citation needed Conservation status editIn February 2012 the Atlantic sturgeon was listed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service under the Endangered Species Act ESA 9 Four distinct population segments DPSs were listed as endangered New York Bight Chesapeake Bay Carolina and South Atlantic while one DPS was listed as threatened Gulf of Maine 10 As of this writing July 22 2015 there are concerns that the construction of the bridge to replace the Tappan Zee connecting Rockland County to Westchester County in New York in the Hudson River may impact the sturgeon s ecological stability 11 The American Fisheries Society considers the fish as threatened throughout its entire range although it is believed to no longer inhabit the full range it once did In the Chesapeake watershed the James River in Virginia is one of the last confirmed holdouts for that region s population In May 2007 a survey captured 175 sturgeon in the river with 15 specimens exceeding 5 ft 1 5 m 12 A bounty based survey of live Atlantic sturgeon in Maryland s portion of the bay found a high number of captures reported in 2005 06 13 14 In 2016 the National Marine Fisheries Service considered designating sixteen rivers as endangered habitat which would require more attention to be given to uses of the rivers that affect the fish 15 Then in 2018 NMFS actually mapped a total of thirty one critical river habitats along the United States Atlantic shores 16 Baltic population editThe now nearly extinct sturgeon population in the Baltic Sea area belongs to the Atlantic sturgeon A oxyrinchus rather than to the European species A sturio as had been thought A oxyrinchus migrated to the Baltic about 1300 years ago and displaced the native A sturio 17 The last known specimen of the Atlantic sturgeon in the Baltic region was caught in 1996 near Muhumaa in Estonia It was 2 9 m 9 5 ft long weighed 136 kg 300 lb and was estimated to be about 50 years old 18 A German Polish project was underway in 2009 to reintroduce the sturgeon into the Baltic by releasing specimens caught in the Canadian Saint John River into the Oder a river at the border between Germany and Poland where the species once spawned 19 The project expanded in 2013 to include Estonia where one year old juveniles were released into the Narva River 20 Conservation designation editIUCN Vulnerable 1 CITES Appendix II 21 The American Fisheries Society considers it endangered in all stream systems except conservation dependent in the Hudson Delaware and Altamaha Rivers citation needed The Atlantic sturgeon of the Delaware River are listed under the ESA as part of the New York Bight distinct population segment DPS 22 23 which includes all Atlantic sturgeon that spawn in watersheds draining to coastal waters from Chatham Massachusetts to the Delaware Maryland border on Fenwick Island 23 5881 the Chesapeake Bay DPS the Carolina DPS and the South Atlantic DPS while the Gulf of Maine DPS is listed threatened 22 23 Canadian origin populations are not currently listed under the U S ESA 22 NMFS believes fewer than 300 spawning adults are in the Delaware River population just over 100 years ago the estimated population was 180 000 spawning adult females citation needed Management editAtlantic sturgeon are now a threatened species Management of the species is largely based on the restriction of fishing of the species This helps limit fishing mortalities of sturgeon to bycatch 24 References edit a b Hilton E Fox D 2022 Acipenser oxyrinchus ssp oxyrinchus IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022 e T243A95763750 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2022 1 RLTS T243A95763750 en Retrieved 9 July 2023 NatureServe 3 March 2023 Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer Arlington Virginia NatureServe Retrieved 21 March 2023 Fisheries NOAA 2021 01 19 Atlantic Sturgeon NOAA Fisheries NOAA Retrieved 2021 05 14 Schultz Ken 2004 Ken Schultz s Field Guide to Freshwater Fish John Wiley amp Sons ISBN 978 0 471 62865 1 Acipenser oxyrinchus Mitchill 1815 Atlantic sturgeon FishBase FishBase consortium Retrieved 4 July 2015 Maryland Fish Facts Maryland gov Retrieved March 28 2017 Florida girl killed by jumping sturgeon FloridaToday com Associated Press 6 July 2015 Originally published 4 July 2015 Retrieved 21 March 2023 Sulak K J Edwards R E Hill G W Randall M T 17 December 2002 Why do sturgeons jump Insights from acoustic investigations of the Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River Florida USA Journal of Applied Ichthyology 18 4 6 617 620 doi 10 1046 j 1439 0426 2002 00401 x Eilperin Juliet 1 February 2012 Atlantic sturgeon listed as endangered species Washington Post Retrieved 8 February 2012 NMFS Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants Final Listing Determinations for Two Distinct Population Segments of Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus in the Southeast Federal Register v77 February 6 2012 5914 5982 Group Petitions to Save a Prehistoric Fish From Modern Construction article by Lisa W Foderaro in The New York Times July 21 2015 Karl Blankenship September 2007 Biologists fail to successfully spawn two female Atlantic sturgeon Chesapeake Bay Journal Archived from the original on 2010 12 13 Retrieved March 30 2012 Maryland Department of Natural Resources 2007 Reward for Live Sturgeon Accessed 8 August 2008 Reward for Live Atlantic Sturgeon Maryland Department of Natural Resources Archived from the original on 2010 01 04 Retrieved February 3 2012 Feds Move to Protect Endangered Atlantic Sturgeon in Delaware River NJ Spotlight NJSpotlight com Retrieved March 28 2017 Atlantic Sturgeon Critical Habitat PDF January 16 2018 Ludwig A Arndt U Lippold S Benecke N Debus L King T L Matsumura S 2008 Tracing the first steps of American sturgeon pioneers in Europe BMC Evolutionary Biology 8 221 doi 10 1186 1471 2148 8 221 PMC 2527320 PMID 18664258 Muhu Maria jai viimaseks Laanemerest puutud atlandi tuuraks Saarlane ee in Estonian Archived from the original on October 17 2013 Germany SPIEGEL ONLINE Hamburg 2006 10 31 European Wildlife Bringing the Sturgeon Back to Germany SPIEGEL ONLINE International Spiegel de Retrieved March 28 2017 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Eesti meres ujuvad taas tuurad Maaleht in Estonian 18 October 2013 Retrieved November 13 2020 Appendices I II and III CITES 4 October 2017 Retrieved 27 October 2017 a b c Species Directory Atlantic Sturgeon NOAA Fisheries 30 January 2023 Retrieved 21 March 2023 a b c 77 FR 5880 Fisheries NOAA 2022 10 27 Action Plan to Reduce Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch in Federal Large Mesh Gillnet Fisheries NOAA Fisheries NOAA Retrieved 2023 11 17 Further reading editNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation New York s Sturgeon Archived 2016 08 29 at the Wayback Machine https web archive org web 20060213083257 http dep state ct us burnatr wildlife factshts atsturg htm https web archive org web 20060508224855 http www maine gov dmr recreational fishes sturgeon htm Froese Rainer and Daniel Pauly eds 2008 Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus in FishBase October 2008 version Burroughs Frank August 2006 Confluence Merrymeeting Bay Gardiner Maine Tilbury House 21 28 ISBN 978 0 88448 282 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Atlantic sturgeon amp oldid 1185617164, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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