For decades, experts had thought the shortnose sturgeon ? a primitive, bottom-dwelling fish? had vanished from the Chesapeake Bay?s rivers.
But when a pregnant female fish turned up in the Potomac River a year and a half ago, and another was caught one year ago, two researchers decided to get on the shortnose sturgeon?s trail.
Now they are studying the bony fish using tracking devices, and they hope to catch them spawning.
“We need more information, but it shows promise that the Potomac and other parts of the Bay can still support shortnose sturgeon,” said Steve Minkkinen, project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service?s Maryland Fishery Resource Office.
Minkkinen is conducting the groundbreaking study with Matthew Breece, a researcher for the U.S. Geological Survey.
“We have learned about timing, temperature, location and habitat usage in the Potomac River,” Breece said. “All of this knowledge is new to everyone in the scientific community.”
The tracking devices may have detected one of the fish spawning last spring, but heavy rainfall prevented the researchers from finding eggs and confirming the spawn. They hope that this year, they can confirm if the fish reproduced, Minkkinen said. The shortnose sturgeon has survived for more than 70 million years but it faces threats to its habitat and survival, according to the Department of Natural Resource?s Web site.
It is one of two species of sturgeon that the federal government protects as endangered species, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Some of the shortnose sturgeon?s troubles have arisen because it looks very similar to the Atlantic sturgeon, a larger fish that was heavily fished during the late 19th century, said Howard King, director of the Maryland Fisheries Service for the Department of Natural Resources.
“The sturgeon is an important group of fish that needs protection and conservation,” King said. The shortnose sturgeon also is more vulnerable to changes in water quality and habitat than most fish species, King said.
And the endangered animal faces yet another threat: Minkkinen and Breece?s federal funding runs out for the research in June, and their project may not be able to continue.
“We?re trying to find funding to continue our work. We operate on about $50,000 to $60,000 per year,” Minkkinen said.
