Shortnose sturgeon

(Acipenser brevirostrum)

Photo: Nancy Haley, NOAA

Did You Know?

· 5 foreign sturgeon

species are proposed

for ESA-listing.

· Shortnose sturgeon

occur in most major

river systems along

the eastern seaboard

of the U.S.

· Shortnose sturgeon

females have been

known to reach 67

years of age! But

males seldom exceed

30.

· Adult shortnose

sturgeon primarily eat

mollusks and large

crustaceans.

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Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum)

Status | Taxonomy | Species Description | Habitat | Distribution |

Population Trends | Threats | Conservation Efforts | Regulatory Overview |

Key Documents | More Info

Status

ESA Endangered - throughout its range

CITES Appendix I - throughout its range

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Osteichthyes

Order: Acipenseriformes

Family: Acipenseridae

Genus: Acipenser

Species: brevirostrum

Species Description

Weight: up to 50 pounds (23 kg)

Length: up to 4.5 feet (1.4 m)

Appearance: bony plates called "scutes" along their back

Lifespan: average 30 years, but can live up to 67 years

Diet: adults: mollusks and large crustaceans

juveniles: benthic insects and small

crustaceans

Behavior: spawn in fresh water

Sturgeon are among the most primitive of the bony

fishes. Their body surface contains five rows of bony

plates, or "scutes." Sturgeon are typically large, longlived fish that inhabit a great diversity of riverine habitat,

from the fast-moving freshwater riverine environment

downstream and, for some species, into the offshore

marine environment of the continental shelf.

The shortnose sturgeon is the smallest of the three

sturgeon species that occur in eastern North America;

they grow up to 4.7 feet (1.4 m) and weigh up to 50.7

pounds (23 kg). Their growth rate and maximum size

vary, with the fastest growth occurring among southern

populations. Female sturgeon can live up to 67 years, but males seldom exceed 30

years of age. Thus, the ratio of females to males among young adults is 1:1, but

changes to 4:1 for fish larger than 3 feet (90 cm).

Males and females mature at the same length, around 1.5-1.8 feet (45-55 cm),

throughout their range. However, the age at which they reach that length varies

from north to south due to a slower growth rate in the north. Males may mature at

age 2 in Georgia, at age 4 from South Carolina to New York, and at age 10 in the St.

John River in Canada. Females exhibit a similar trend and mature at age 6 or

younger in Georgia, at age 7 from South Carolina to New York, and at age 13 in the

St. John River. Age of first spawning in males occurs 1 to 2 years after maturity, but

among females is delayed for up to 5 years. Approximate age of a female at first

spawning is 15 years in the St. John River, 11 years in the Hudson and Delaware

Rivers, ranges from 7 to 14 years in the South Carolina rivers, and 6 years or less in

the Altahama River in Georgia. Generally, females spawn every three years,

although males may spawn every year.

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Habitat

Shortnose sturgeon inhabit rivers and estuaries. They are "anadromous" fish; they

spawn in the coastal rivers along the east coast of North America from the St. John

River in Canada to the St. Johns River in Florida. They prefer the nearshore marine,

estuarine, and riverine habitat of large river systems. Shortnose sturgeon, unlike

other anadromous species in the region such as shad or salmon, do not appear to

make long distance offshore migrations. They are "benthic" feeders, eating

crustaceans, mollusks, and insects.

Distribution

The shortnose sturgeon is anadromous, living mainly in the slower moving riverine

waters or nearshore marine waters, and migrating periodically into faster moving

fresh water areas to spawn

One partially landlocked population is known in the Holyoke Pool, Connecticut River,

and another landlocked group may exist in Lake Marion on the Santee River in South

Carolina.

Shortnose sturgeon occur in most major river systems along the eastern seaboard of

the United States.

In the southern portion of the range, they are found in the

◾ St. Johns River in Florida

◾ Altamaha, Ogeechee, and Savannah Rivers in Georgia

◾ in South Carolina river systems that empty into Winyah Bay and the Santee/

Cooper River complex that forms Lake Marion.

Data are lacking for the rivers of North Carolina.

In the northern portion of the range, shortnose sturgeon are found in

◾ Chesapeake Bay system

◾ Delaware River

◾ Hudson River in New York

◾ Connecticut River

◾ lower Merrimack River in Massachusetts

◾ Piscataqua River in New Hampshire

◾ Kennebec River system, which includes the Androscoggin and Sheepscot

Rivers, in Maine

◾ Penobscot River in Maine

◾ St. John River in New Brunswick, Canada

They have also been documented occasionally in some of the other rivers along the

Maine coastline, which may be a result of increased coastal movements between the

larger rivers in Maine and Massachusetts, including:

◾ Saco River

◾ St. George River

◾ Damariscotta River

◾ Medomak River

◾ Passasagasawakeag River

Population Trends

No estimate of the historical population size of shortnose sturgeon is available. While

the shortnose sturgeon was rarely the target of a commercial fishery, it often was

taken incidentally in the commercial fishery for Atlantic sturgeon. In the 1950s,

sturgeon fisheries declined on the east coast, which resulted in a lack of records of

shortnose sturgeon. This led the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to conclude that the

fish had been eliminated from the rivers in its historic range (except the Hudson

River) and was in danger of extinction because of pollution and overfishing, both

directly and incidentally.

Threats

◾ construction of dams, mainly during the

period of industrial growth (late 1800s-early

1900s) may have resulted in substantial loss

of suitable habitat

◾ pollution of many large northeastern river

systems

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Atlantic sturgeon (top) and

Shortnose sturgeon (bottom)

(Acipenser oxyrinchus and Acipenser

brevirostrum)

Photo: Doug Cooke,

South Carolina Department of Natural

Resources

◾ habitat alterations from discharges

◾ dredging or disposal of material into rivers

◾ related development activities involving

estuarine/ riverine mudflats and marshes

Historically:

◾ commercial exploitation, which occurred

throughout its range from Colonial times

until the 1950s

Conservation Efforts

Placing the species on the endangered species list

resulted in a great deal of research on the species

in the northern river systems. NMFS published a

recovery plan in December 1998 outlining actions

that need to be taken in order to recover the

species.

Regulatory Overview

The shortnose sturgeon was listed as endangered throughout its range on

March 11, 1967 under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 (a

predecessor to the Endangered Species Act of 1973). NMFS later assumed

jurisdiction for shortnose sturgeon under a 1974 government reorganization plan

(38 FR 41370).

Key Documents

(All documents are in PDF format.)

Title Federal Register Date

Biological Assessment 11/2010

Recovery Plan 63 FR 69613 12/17/1998

ESA Listing Rule 32 FR 4001 03/11/1967

More Information

◾ Kahn, J, and Mohead. M. C. 2010. "A Protocol for Use of Shortnose, Atlantic,

Gulf, and Green Sturgeons." NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-OPR-45.

◾ Dadswell, Michael J., Bruce D. Taubert, Thomas S. Squiers, Donald Marchette,

and Jack Buckley. 1984. Synopsis of Biological Data on Shortnose Sturgeon,

Acipenser brevirostrum LeSueur 1818. NOAA Technical Report NMFS-14, FAO

Fisheries Synopsis No. 140, 45p.

Updated: March 28, 2014

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