June 5, 2013 — Researchers at the University of New England’s Biddeford campus caught about 40 Atlantic sturgeon and shortnose sturgeon in the Saco River Wednesday afternoon while documenting the health and population of the species, which is still considered endangered in some East Coast waters.
Marine sciences professor James Sulikowski, excitedly described the catch that included a seven-foot “monster” that weighed an estimated 250 pounds.
“We didn’t know how we were going to get it in the boat,” Sulikowski said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s so new we don’t know what to think yet.”
Sulikowski said the behemoth could be 30 years old. The bottom-dwelling Atlantic sturgeon have approximately the same lifespan as humans, he said.
The Atlantic sturgeon in Maine was thought to be nearly eradicated by about 1950, but Sulikowski said sturgeon have experienced a comeback since the government banned fishing of the species. He also attributed the resurgence in part to improvement of the water quality of the Saco River.
Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald