Dead sharks and sturgeon will occasionally wash ashore. These mortalities can occur due to fishery interactions, boating, predation, parasitism, or other natural causes. The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) collects information on the location, species, length, sex, and condition of these deceased individuals. [Read more…] about New York’s Shark and Sturgeon Salvage Program
sturgeon
Massive 6-Foot Atlantic Sturgeon Caught in Hudson River
Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) are an endangered, anadromous fish species that spend most of the year in the Atlantic Ocean, but the adults move up the Hudson River during this time of year to spawn. While in the ocean they migrate from Florida to Maine.
They are the Hudson River‘s biggest fish, and New York State’s largest sturgeon species (New York has three species — the Atlantic sturgeon, shortnose sturgeon, and lake sturgeon). [Read more…] about Massive 6-Foot Atlantic Sturgeon Caught in Hudson River
DEC Fisheries 2023 Year in Review
Here is a list of highlights and noteworthy items from the past year here in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Bureau of Fisheries. [Read more…] about DEC Fisheries 2023 Year in Review
How Many Endangered Shortnose Sturgeon are in the Hudson River?
Research scientists are collaborating on a large-scale project to provide an updated estimate for Hudson River’s shortnose sturgeon population, a federally endangered species, using acoustic telemetry and side-scan sonar. Acoustic telemetry uses stationary receivers to detect signals emitted from tagged marine species such as sturgeon. [Read more…] about How Many Endangered Shortnose Sturgeon are in the Hudson River?
Oneida Fish Hatchery in Constantia, Oswego County
The Oneida Fish Hatchery in Constantia, Oswego County, on the north shore of Oneida Lake, stocks waters from Central New York to the St. Lawrence River. The hatcheries’ rearing program is focused on walleye and includes egg collections from Oneida Lake (200-300 million eggs/year) from which it raises roughly 205 million walleye. It also raises the statewide supply of 100,000 tiger muskellunge and cultures rare or threatened fish such as 4,000 lake sturgeon, and 15,000 cisco (lake herring) a year. [Read more…] about Oneida Fish Hatchery in Constantia, Oswego County
Sturgeon Events Planned For October
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York Sea Grant (NYSG) have announced a series of fall events celebrating the continuing recovery of the state’s three sturgeon species.
Sturgeon populations are rebounding in New York after decades of being on the threatened or endangered species lists as DEC continues to work to bring the primitive and distinctive fish back to the freshwaters of the state through strategic fish management and water quality improvements. [Read more…] about Sturgeon Events Planned For October
Hudson River Atlantic Sturgeon: The River’s Largest Fish
Each June, biologists from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Fisheries Unit study the endangered adult Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) when the fish return to the Hudson River to spawn.
Atlantic sturgeon, the largest fish species in the Hudson River Estuary, are anadromous, which means they hatch in freshwater, spend most of their lives in saltwater, and return to freshwater to spawn. The Hudson River currently supports the largest population of Atlantic sturgeon along the Atlantic Coast, estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,500 fish.
Sturgeon were one of the types of fish commercially harvested by European settlers and one of the first “cash crops” of Albany, where they became known as “Albany Beef.” In the late 19th century, seven million pounds of sturgeon meat were exported from the US each year. That number soon dropped to 22,000 pounds. [Read more…] about Hudson River Atlantic Sturgeon: The River’s Largest Fish
DEC Says Lake Sturgeon Recovery Close; Planning Removal from Threatened Species List
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the release of the 2021 Lake Sturgeon Population Assessment Status Report.
Lake sturgeon can live for more than 100 years and grow to seven feet in length, making them the largest freshwater fish in New York. Because of this long lifespan and delayed sexual maturity, lake sturgeon are incredibly vulnerable to over-fishing and population depletion. [Read more…] about DEC Says Lake Sturgeon Recovery Close; Planning Removal from Threatened Species List
Annual Lake Sturgeon Stocking Complete
New York State’s Oneida Fish Hatchery and partners from the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Genoa National Fish Hatchery recently stocked more than 23,000 lake sturgeon fingerlings across their New York range.
Lake sturgeon are raised at both hatcheries from eggs taken from wild fish in early June near the Moses-Saunders Dam in Massena, NY. By the time they’re stocked they’ve grown to about seven inches in just four and a half months. [Read more…] about Annual Lake Sturgeon Stocking Complete
Shortnose Sturgeon: New Population Study Underway
The shortnose sturgeon was the first fish listed as endangered with enactment of the 1973 Endangered Species Act.
Soon after, researchers conducted a population estimate for Hudson River shortnose sturgeon in order to develop recommendations for managing the recovery of this fish.
A second population study in the 1990s indicated a substantial increase in the spawning population from the 1970s. [Read more…] about Shortnose Sturgeon: New Population Study Underway
Poetry: The Sturgeon
The Sturgeon
The mechanics of suffering
is not so daunting to understand
it hurts for a while-
gums and bellies pierced by
an unseen passion… and then it is done
the savory-sweet, cherry cough syrup scent
of death dries and disappears, leaving
only impressions in the ample depth of sand
After 50 Years Lake Sturgeon Found Spawning in Genesee River
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has reported a milestone in the restoration of the Genesee River following the collection of a spawning female lake sturgeon in the lower Genesee for the first time in more than 50 years. [Read more…] about After 50 Years Lake Sturgeon Found Spawning in Genesee River
6 Foot Lake Sturgeon Found In Oneida Lake
DEC staff and partners around the state are out sampling to continue measuring recovery of Lake Sturgeon. Scientists at Cornell University’s Biological Field Station at Shackleton Point recently captured an impressive 159 pound, 6 footer from Oneida Lake – the largest sturgeon documented from the lake to date. [Read more…] about 6 Foot Lake Sturgeon Found In Oneida Lake
Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda Draft Released
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released the draft Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda 2021-2025, a five-year blueprint for conserving and restoring the Hudson River estuary and its watershed. [Read more…] about Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda Draft Released
Fishing History: A Hudson River Shantytown
The fishing shacks at the end of Dock Street in the North Bay area of Hudson, NY, (just past the Kite’s Nest River City Garden) are part of a 14.4 acre parcel that was purchased originally in the 1600s by a German immigrant from Indigenous people. There have been businesses on the land including gristmills, slaughterhouses and tanneries.
The first Shantytown shacks were constructed in the 1880s and through the middle of the next century they functioned as sites for shad, sturgeon, and herring fishing. Active use of Shantytown continued into the 21st century until the city decreed that the shacks could no longer be used. A project to demolish most of the shacks and restore a few is part of the city’s 2017 NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant. [Read more…] about Fishing History: A Hudson River Shantytown
State Seeks Input On Endangered Species Changes
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is accepting public comment on a revised regulatory proposal to strengthen protections for threatened and endangered wildlife in New York.
The proposal promotes sharing information between landowners and DEC staff during permit reviews for projects on lands where endangered or threatened species may be located, helping improve the pace of permit decisions and to better avoid negative impacts to vulnerable wildlife populations. [Read more…] about State Seeks Input On Endangered Species Changes
Anglers Cautioned to Avoid Spawning Sturgeon
Lake sturgeon can be unintentionally caught by anglers fishing in certain waters in New York during May and June when they’re spawning. The stress incurred from being caught by an angler can inhibit a lake sturgeon’s ability to spawn. It takes many years for female sturgeon to become sexually mature, and they only spawn every 4-7 years, so missing a spawning opportunity can have a big impact on the growth of a population. [Read more…] about Anglers Cautioned to Avoid Spawning Sturgeon
Champy: A Legendary Lake Monster As History
A New York Minute In History is offering the first episode of a special series on folklore.
In this initial journey of the “Legends and Lore of The Empire State” series, co-hosts Devin Lander and Lauren Roberts explore the legend behind a storied lake monster in Northern New York. [Read more…] about Champy: A Legendary Lake Monster As History
Environmental History: The Great Atlantic River Fish Migrations
Ever wonder what pristine runs of migratory fish in Atlantic rivers looked like to early colonists? Some saw so many salmon, shad, alewives and other species that they said the waters “ran silver” with fish as they swam upstream to spawn.
John Waldman’s Running Silver: Restoring Atlantic Rivers and their Great Fish Migrations (Lyons Press, 2013) covers the biology, history, and conservation of shad, salmon, striped bass, sturgeon, eels and the others that complete grand migrations between fresh and salt waters. [Read more…] about Environmental History: The Great Atlantic River Fish Migrations