New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

sturgeon

Sturgeon Events Planned For October

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6 foot Lake Sturgeon from Oneida Lake provided by DECThe 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

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studying atlantic sturgeon courtesy Hudson River Valley GreenwayEach 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

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Lake Sturgeon RecoveryThe 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

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Lake Sturgeon courtesy DEC 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

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Shortnose sturgeon 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

After 50 Years Lake Sturgeon Found Spawning in Genesee River

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Lake Sturgeon courtesy Marc Chalupnicki USGSNew 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

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6 foot Lake Sturgeon from Oneida Lake provided by DECDEC 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

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Hudson River Estuary Action AgendaThe 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

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young boy in the front of Shantytown courtesy the Leo Bower CollectionThe 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