Description. Creeper; Dwarf Wedgemussel; Eastern Pondmussel; Tidewater Mucket; Reptiles. In Massachusetts, populations are mostly riverine, although estuaries and coastal areas are used during the winter months. While hundreds of individuals were identified below the dam from 1993-1995, only between one and six were passed in any one of these years. This is considered to reflect a combined population of adult shortnose sturgeon that spawn throughout the Androscoggin/Kennebec Rivers DPS. The shortnose sturgeon was HABITAT: The Shortnose Sturgeon is an amphidromous species, meaning that they spawn in freshwater but enter saltwater habitats during their life. Drawing by Laszlo Meszoly, from Hartel et al. The shortnose sturgeon has been federally listed as endangered since the inception of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. Some species of sturgeon are harvested for their roe, which is made into caviar. Shortnose Sturgeon. A shortnose sturgeon swims among striped bass at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News, Va., on March 9, 2016. Shortnose Sturgeon; Mammals. They spawn in fast-flowing, rocky . September 27, 2016 Catherine Johnston’s interest in ecology and fisheries research inspired her to pursue a Master of Science degree at the University of Maine studying how the recent removal of two dams might open up critical spawning habitat for endangered shortnose sturgeon ( Acipenser brevirostrum ). Shortnose Sturgeon Fact Sheet – p. 2 A Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Massachusetts State Wildlife Action Plan Please allow the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program to continue to conserve the biodiversity of Massachusetts with a contribution for Prior to 1973 commercial fishing records did not differentiate between the Atlantic and the shortnose sturgeon. There is no estimate of the population size.

Endangered shortnose sturgeon have rediscovered habitat in the Penobscot River that had been inaccessible to the species for more than 100 years prior to the removal of the Veazie Dam in 2013. NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Geological Survey were proud sponsors of the Atlantic and Shortnose Sturgeon 2016 Workshop, which was held at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and at the U.S. Geological Survey in … The shortnose sturgeon has been an endangered species in the United States since 1967. U.S.FWS Species profile about species listing status, federal register publications, recovery, critical habitat, conservation planning, petitions, and life history. Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) is one of approximately 25 surviving species in the Family Acipenseridae, a group of long-lived primitive ray-finned fishes.It has the following external features: small eyes and a wide, siphon-like toothless mouth on the underside and near the rear of its elongated V-shaped snout; They tend to congregate in the main river channels and only use smaller tributaries to a lesser extent. Shortnose sturgeon are classified as anadromous, living in the estuarine reaches of most Atlantic seaboard rivers and ascending to flowing freshwater to spawn. Blanding’s Turtle; Diamond-backed Terrapin; Eastern Box Turtle; Northern Red-bellied Cooter; Wood Turtle; Segmented Worms. It is estimated that the number of sturgeon in major basins has declined by 70% over the last century. During much of the 20th century, however, populations suffered major declines throughout their range from the combined effects of overfishing, pollution, and habitat loss.