Where Have All the Sturgeons Gone?
Contact: Michael T. Kinnison (207) 581-2575; David Munson (207) 581-3777
ORONO, Me. – Researchers from UMaine will soon be on the trail of one of the East Coast’s longest-lived and most endangered fish, thanks to an $86,298 grant from the United States Department of Commerce (NOAA/NMFS).
UMaine Biological Sciences Professor Michael T. Kinnison, School of Marine Sciences Professor Gayle Zydlewski, and Ecology and Environmental Sciences Graduate Student Stephen Fernandes seek to determine whether the Atlantic Sturgeon is actually present in the Penobscot River Estuary and the lower river, where the species has long been rumored to exist. If sturgeon are indeed found, Kinnison and Zydlewski will compile information concerning the animal’s ecology and abundance in an effort to help establish the current status of the species locally, regionally, and nationally.
In addition to the Atlantic sturgeon, which is currently listed as a species of special concern along the East Coast, the project will gather population information regarding the short nosed sturgeon, a related species already listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
The study will utilize a new hydroacoustic telemetry array that is jointly deployed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Maine to monitor the movement patterns of marked fish, and collaborate with the US Geological Survey Cooperative Fisheries Unit on the project as well.