The Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus) is a member of the Acipenseridae family and is among one of the oldest fish species in the world. Its range extends from New Brunswick, Canada to the eastern coast of Florida. It was in great abundance when the first settlers came to America, but has since declined due to overfishing and water pollution. It is considered threatened, endangered and even extinct in much of its original habitats. The fish can reach sixty years of age, fifteen feet (4.6 m) in length and over eight hundred pounds (360 kg) in weight.
Read more about Atlantic Sturgeon: Physical Appearance, Life Cycle, Economic History, Conservation Status, Baltic Population, Conservation Designation, Management
Famous quotes containing the words atlantic and/or sturgeon:
“The shallowest still water is unfathomable. Wherever the trees and skies are reflected, there is more than Atlantic depth, and no danger of fancy running aground.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I can’t accept “our nervous age,” since mankind has been nervous during every age. Whoever fears nervousness should turn into a sturgeon or smelt; if a sturgeon makes a stupid mistake, it can only be one: to end up on a hook, and then in a pan in a pastry shell.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)