The shortnose sturgeon can be anadromous but they seem to halt their downstream migration at Grand Bay. Anyone who has donned scuba gear in that area can tell you, it is essentially sea water down deep. The only difference is that they spawn earlier in the spring just as the river starts to drop. Because the shortnose sturgeon peaks out at 20 kilograms, it is believed to mature earlier than the massive Atlantic. The two fish look remarkably the same except that the shortuose is stockier with, you guessed it, a shorter nose.
Some people mistakenly think that the shortnose is simply a juvenile Atlantic.
This mistaken identity arises because juvenile Atlantics are rarely seen. I must confess, with all the years I spent rowing on the Kennebecasis River, I was sure that when a fish jumped it was a salmon. As I started working with sturgeon, I discovered my error. In fact, a few years ago while rowing with my teammates, three agile shortnose sturgeon jumped within three metres of the rowing shell. My teammate muttered 'salmon' under his breath.