MEDIA ADVISORY - Eleven Captive-reared Gulf Sturgeon Begin Journey to Find Suitable Habitat, Other Populations

WHAT:

Eleven captive-reared Gulf sturgeon will be released below and above Jim Woodruff Dam in Chattahoochee, Florida. These fish, which have been surgically sterilized and outfitted with radio transmitters, will serve as sentinels in search of suitable habitat and possibly other wild populations in the Chattahoochee-Flint-Apalachicola River system. Although the fish was historically abundant within this river system, there is currently only one known population of 300 to 400 sturgeon located below the dam. A similar study is underway with the Shortnose sturgeon in the Savannah River System, but this is a pioneering attempt with the Gulf sturgeon.

WHO:

Representatives involved in the project from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service