Unlike striped bass and shad, which return to spawn in four or five years, female sturgeon do not begin spawning until they are about 15. Sturgeon are primitive fish that date back at least 70 million years and possibly twice that. They are not covered by scales, but rather with five rows of bony shields, called scutes. The Atlantic sturgeon has a long, hard snout and four whisker-like sensory barbels that project from near the mouth. Sturgeon are perhaps best known for their habit of occasionally jumping completely out of the water for unknown reasons.
Colonial records report several incidents of giant sturgeons landing in ships.
Shortly after they were placed in the Nanticoke, one of the sturgeon did leap above the waves. That's much more exciting.