The once-bountiful Atlantic sturgeon that sustained North America's first European settlers and Native Americans now may number in the hundreds in the Chesapeake Bay, but no one really knows. Sturgeon, which have survived virtually unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs, are dwindling worldwide under the influence of human beings.
In October, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration announced the Chesapeake Bay sturgeon was among five East Coast populations proposed for protection. The others range from New York to the South Atlantic states. The proposed listing is a desperate attempt to save "a fish of superlatives," Garman says.
The listing would be aimed at saving the fish's habitat, as their harvest already is banned.
"Sturgeon is the most endangered family of fish," said Brad Sewell, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which has pushed for protections. "Globally, they're all going extinct."
Read the complete story from The Beatrice Daily Sun.