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Acipenser oxyrinchus
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| The Chesapeake Bay once supported
a large and valuable population of Atlantic sturgeon,
a long-lived, bottom dwelling species capable of reaching enormous
size. Sturgeon, throughout its range, has virtually disappeared due
to over fishing, poor water quality, and dammed rivers blocking fish from their
spawning areas.
Initially, the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service is trying to learn more about the abundance, distribution, mortality, and life cycles of sturgeon in Atlantic coastal waters. One successful method for obtaining such information is through tagging. Each captured fish is marked with two spaghetti-shaped tags (one on its pectoral or bottom fin and one on its dorsal or top fin). Each tag bears a separate serial number, plus a toll-free telephone number. Some sturgeon are also being tagged with a yellow spaghetti-shaped dart tag located near the third scute from the front. The Cooperative Tagging Program is providing valuable information for understanding migration, mortality, and spawning behavior for Atlantic Sturgeon. You can help sturgeon restoration efforts by collecting and reporting tags. State and federal biologists and managers working with sturgeon recovery programs in Atlantic Coastal waters, need your help and welcome any information you can provide about this fish. If you catch a tagged Atlantic sturgeon, call 1-800-448-8322 to report information about the recapture, such as the tag number, size of the fish, date, place, and method of capture. Any person who reports U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service tags from Atlantic sturgeon to the Maryland Fishery Resources Office will receive a certificate of participation and an embroidered Atlantic sturgeon hat. |
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