The agreement will expedite measures needed to ensure the Alabama sturgeon's existence and recovery. With the Conservation Agreement and Strategy in place we have certainly taken a major step in the recovery process, but still we're just starting. The Alabama sturgeon is a slender, golden-yellow, freshwater fish that was historically widespread in the Mobile River Basin of Alabama and Mississippi. It grows to about 30 inches in length and weighs two to three pounds. It was once so abundant it was caught and sold commercially.
Scientific evidence supports the Alabama sturgeon as a distinct species.
The American Society of Herpetologists and Ichthyologists and the American Fisheries Society, both national scientific organizations, recognize the Alabama sturgeon as a separate species. The Service will designate critical habitat for the Alabama sturgeon next year. Critical habitat is a term used in the Endangered Species Act to refer to specific geographic areas that are essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and may require special management considerations. The Service will publish its decision to list the Alabama sturgeon as an endangered species in the Federal Register on Friday, May 5. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.