Fish Facts: The Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum)
by Christina Tobitsch - Director of Education
(pictured above - shortnose sturgeon with seining class)
Although the mighty Atlantic Sturgeon is often the legendary posterchild of the Hudson River, a smaller species of sturgeon- the shortnose sturgeon- has been creating waves of excitement at CURB this past year. For the first time ever, a sturgeon was hauled in by our seining net during a school program on June 6, 2025.
While this was one of largest fish we’ve ever caught in our net, the shortnose sturgeon is actually the smallest sturgeon species along the East Atlantic Coast- averaging about 3.5 feet and 14 pounds at maturity. Seeing a sturgeon in the Hudson is rare, due to their elusive and bottom dwelling behavior. But if you do, it’s hard not to immediately recognize a sturgeon when you see it! These prehistoric creatures have a prominent snout with barbels and rows of large bony plates along the body called scutes. Though their size may make you believe they are apex predators, it is quite the opposite: they are actually toothless bottom feeders, sifting through the sediment (mud) at the bottom of the river for invertebrates like crustaceans, worms and bivalves.
When might you have an opportunity to get a glimpse of this living fossil? Unfortunately, on occasion, a carcass may wash up on shore. This is often due to boat propeller collisions. A combination of other factors have additionally led to the shortnose sturgeon’s classification as endangered at the state and federal level. These negative impacts have included years of overexploitation of sturgeon eggs for caviar, by-catch in trawling nets, extremely polluted waters, and damming of the river which has cut off the ability to migrate to freshwater for spawning.
The good news? Conservation initiatives are afoot. The NYS DEC actively monitors sturgeon populations in the Hudson. You can even help with sturgeon research & tracking by reporting any dead sturgeon sightings. For more information, visit the DEC’s page on sturgeons. While populations are still low, there appears to be improvement over the last few decades. With any luck, perhaps we will encounter another living and healthy sturgeon in our net once again!