In rivers from Delaware to Canada, adults spawn in the spring and early summer. In rivers from Georgia to the Chesapeake Bay, scientists have confirmed that adult sturgeon spawn during the late summer and fall. Spawning runs of Atlantic sturgeon are still not completely understood. Working closely with our partners, we develop regulations and management plans that preserve and restore sturgeon habitat, monitor bycatch, and promote population recovery. We use a variety of innovative techniques to study, protect, and recover these endangered fish. NOAA Fisheries and our partners are dedicated to conserving and rebuilding Atlantic sturgeon populations along the East Coast. The primary threats currently facing Atlantic sturgeon are entanglement in fishing gear, habitat degradation, habitat impediments, such as dams and other barriers, and vessel strikes. The populations in Canada are not protected species under the U.S. Atlantic sturgeon distinct population segments are listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. However, historical landings records generally failed to differentiate between Atlantic sturgeon and the smaller shortnose sturgeon, making it difficult to determine historical trends in abundance for populations of either species. ![]() By 1989, only 400 pounds of sturgeon were recorded. Close to 7 million pounds of sturgeon were reportedly caught in 1887, but by 1905, the catch declined to only 20,000 pounds. During the late 1800s, people flocked to the eastern United States in search of caviar riches from the sturgeon fishery, known as the “Black Gold Rush.” By the beginning of the 1900s, sturgeon populations had declined drastically. Atlantic sturgeon were prized for their eggs, which were valued as high-quality caviar. Atlantic sturgeon were once found in great abundance, but their populations have declined greatly due to overfishing and habitat loss. Indigenous tribes have harvested Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon for their meat and eggs (roe) beginning some 4,000 years ago, and sturgeon are credited as the primary food source that saved the Jamestown settlers in 1607. All of these features give the fish its unique look.Ītlantic sturgeon are slow-growing and late-maturing, and have been recorded to reach up to 14 feet in length and up to 60 years of age. ![]() In addition, the tail is like a shark’s where one side, or lobe, is larger than the other. The Atlantic sturgeon has five rows of bony plates known as scutes that run along its body and a snout with four slender, soft tissue projections called barbels in front of its mouth. Hatched in the freshwater of rivers, Atlantic sturgeon head out to sea as sub-adults, and return to their birthplace to spawn, or lay eggs, when they reach adulthood. Atlantic sturgeon live in rivers and coastal waters from Canada to Florida.
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