Enforcement Task Force Confirms Threats to Endangered Sturgeon

Story by: Guest Contributor

First posted on 05-03-2007

A combined state and federal task force confirmed last week that a prominent resident of the Mississippi River ecosystem remains in danger of extinction.

In a unique, multi-day effort, more than 70 state and federal conservation officers patrolled hundreds of miles of river, enforcing laws designed to protect aquatic species, with particular focus on the commercial fishery for shovelnose sturgeon, a cousin of the endangered pallid sturgeon.

Special agents and refuge officers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Missouri Conservation Agents, Illinois Conservation Police Officers, and wildlife officers from Kentucky and Tennessee joined forces in an overt patrol to enforce commercial fishing compliance with state and federal laws. Using state planes for air support, the task force made several seizures of gear and fish for violations of state laws.

Of particular note, the task force documented the capture of endangered pallid sturgeon in commercial fishing nets. The pallid sturgeon, called the dinosaur of the river, evolved from a group of fish dominant 70 million years ago. The fish, which can weigh up to 80 pounds, can live 60 years or longer.

“ The results of this operation confirm the troubling fact that endangered pallid sturgeon are being snared in the shovelnose fishery nets,” said Robyn Thorson, the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Midwest regional director. “With continued assistance from our state enforcement partners, cooperative efforts will target commercial fishing operations in waters shared by the pallid and shovelnose sturgeon.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service listed the pallid sturgeon as endangered in 1990. Nearly all of its habitat has been modified through river channelization, construction of impoundments and related changes in water flow. These changes have blocked the pallid sturgeon’s movements, destroyed or changed its spawning areas, reduced its food sources or ability to obtain food, and altered water temperatures and other environmental conditions necessary for the fish’s survival.

Scientists estimate that fewer than 10,000 pallid sturgeon live in the Yellowstone, Missouri and Mississippi rivers from Montana to the Gulf of Mexico. Those that survive are older, and are not being replaced by new generations.

Like Russian sturgeon, pallid sturgeon were once harvested for their flesh and caviar. The pallid sturgeon’s smaller North American cousin, the shovelnose sturgeon, is currently targeted for its roe by caviar manufacturers seeking alternate sources now that importation of Russian caviar is restricted.

“ The high demand and high price for caviar puts enormous pressure on sturgeon stocks worldwide,” Thorson said. “Because of the changing ecosystem and limited reproduction, any taking of the pallid sturgeon—intentional or not—has a dramatic detrimental affect to the pallid sturgeon’s recovery.”

The Service is raising and stocking pallid sturgeon to help recover this endangered fish. Most recently, as part of the species restoration plan, 165 hatchery-raised pallid sturgeon were stocked in the Missouri River. Habitat conservation, stocking and prohibitions on taking any pallid sturgeon are all necessary components of its recovery.

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. The Service manages the 96-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

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