Shortnose Sturgeon: New Population Study Underway
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation sent this bulletin on 08/10/2021 10:15 AM EDT![]() |
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Hudson RiverNet
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Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) is the smallest of New York's sturgeons, rarely exceeding 4 feet in length and 18 pounds in weight. Adult shortnose sturgeon migrate upriver from their mid-Hudson overwintering areas to freshwater spawning sites north of Coxsackie, but much of their spawning behavior and early life-stages are still not fully understood. The shortnose sturgeon population in the Hudson River may now be the largest in the world. However, this assessment is based on research that is several decades old, and new studies are needed to support management and recovery actions. Newer technologies now available, such as high resolution side-scan sonar and acoustic telemetry, have been successfully used to provide enhanced population estimates for other sturgeons. Acoustic telemetry uses receivers to detect signals emitted from tagged marine species like sturgeon. The side-scan sonar uses sound to create an image of the river floor and objects in the water column, and is one method for counting fish. Smaller objects in the river, such as shortnose sturgeon, are harder to distinguish.
This spring, academic, federal, and state research scientists embarked on a large-scale project that will provide an updated estimate for the Hudson’s shortnose sturgeon population using acoustic telemetry and side-scan sonar. In April and May, 50 adult shortnose sturgeon were netted on the spawning grounds north of Coxsackie and surgically implanted with long-lived (10-year) acoustic transmitters. These transmitters will be detected on a river-wide array of acoustic receivers as the fish move throughout the Hudson River estuary. The receivers will store the unique tag number and the date and time that a fish swims past a receiver (like E-Z Pass for sturgeon).
Funding for this project comes from the Hudson River Foundation and the Hudson River Estuary Program. The shortnose sturgeon were collected and tagged under a National Marine Fisheries Service Endangered Species Act Research permit # 20340. |