Conservation Designation
IUCN: Critically Endangered
CITES: Appendix II
American Fisheries Society: Endangered in all stream systems except Conservation Dependent in Hudson, Delaware, and Altamaha river. However, on Jan. 31, 2012, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced that it will list the Atlantic sturgeon in the Delaware River as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act, because the species is presently in danger of extinction. The Atlantic sturgeon of the Delaware River are listed as part of the New York Bight distinct population segment, which includes all Atlantic sturgeon that spawn in watersheds draining to coastal waters from Chatham, MA to the Delaware-Maryland border on Fenwick Island. NMFS believes there are fewer than 300 spawning adults in the Delaware River population; just over 100 years ago there were estimated to be 180,000 spawning adult females.
Read more about this topic: Atlantic Sturgeon
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