2007 Status Review of Atlantic sturgeon - National Marine Fisheries ...

Historical reports of Atlantic sturgeon in the Merrimack River include a 104 kg sturgeon taken at
Newburyport on September 14, 1938, while netting for blueback herring (Hoover 1938). An
intensive gill net survey was conducted in the Merrimack River from 1987-1990 to determine
annual movements, spawning, summering, and wintering areas of shortnose and Atlantic
sturgeon (Kieffer and Kynard 1993). Thirty-six Atlantic sturgeon were captured (70-156 cm
TL); most being under 100 cm TL. One dead Atlantic sturgeon was found on June 30, 1990 at
the shortnose spawning area in Haverhill, MA (between rkm 31-32). Of 23 subadult Atlantic
sturgeon sonically tracked in the river, 11 left the river within seven days, and the rest left by
September or October of each year (Kieffer and Kynard 1993). Fish captured in one year were
not observed in the river during subsequent years. On June 9, 1998, a 24 inch (estimated length)
Atlantic sturgeon was captured and released in the Merrimack River by the USFWS personnel,
who were conducting a contaminant study on the river (D. Major, USFWS, Pers. Comm. 2006).
This information provides no evidence of a spawning population of Atlantic sturgeon in the
Merrimack River, although it seems that the estuary is used as a nursery area (B. Kynard, Conte
Anadromous Fish Research Center, Pers. Comm. 1998).
Taunton River – Massachusetts and Rhode Island
Historical records indicate that Atlantic sturgeon spawned in the Taunton River at least until the
turn of the century (Tracy 1905). A gill net survey was conducted in the Taunton River during
1991 and 1992 to document the use of this system by sturgeon. Three subadult Atlantic sturgeon
were captured but were determined to be non-natal fish (Burkett and Kynard 1993). In June
2004, a fisherman fishing in state waters noted that the first three fathoms of towed up gear held
three juvenile Atlantic or shortnose sturgeon (Anoushian 2004). 11 Trawlers fishing in state
waters (less than three miles offshore) also occasionally report Atlantic sturgeon captures. Since
1997, only two sturgeon have been captured by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management Trawl Survey (RIDEM), one measuring 85 cm TL was captured in 1997 in
Narragansett Bay, and another (130 cm TL) was captured in October 2005 in Rhode Island
Sound (A. Libby, RIDEM, Pers. Comm. 2006). The NMFS observer program has also
documented Atlantic sturgeon bycatch off the coast of Rhode Island in Federal waters. Since
spawning adults were not found during the expected spawning period of May and June, it is
likely that a spawning population of Atlantic sturgeon does not occur in the Taunton River,
though the system is used as a nursery area for Atlantic sturgeon (Burkett and Kynard 1993).
Thames River – Connecticut
The Thames River is formed by the joining of the Yantic and Shetucket rivers in Norwich
Harbor, Connecticut. Information on abundance of Atlantic sturgeon in the Thames River is
scarce. Sturgeon scutes have been documented at an archeological site along the river, and
historical reports note sturgeon use by Native Americans. Atlantic sturgeon were reportedly
abundant in the system until the 1830s (reviewed in Minta 1992). Whitworth (1996) speculated
that populations of both shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon in the Thames were always low because
the fall line is located near the limit of saltwater intrusion, leaving little to no freshwater habitat
for spawning. The construction of the Greenville Dam in 1825 further restricted available
habitat and probably prevented sturgeon from spawning in the river. There have been some
11 It is expected that these three juveniles were not shortnose sturgeon due to their rarity in this system.
11