Those in the Philadelphia area -- okay, at least conservationists and anglers -- were abuzz with the news that a fisherman snagged a shortnose sturgeon this past summer near the Fairmount Dam. The fish has been on the federal endangered species list since 1967 and has not been identified in the Schuylkill River before, either by water testing agencies or known in the historical record.
The sturgeon is one of those near-mythical creatures that grabs our imagination and attention. It has remained mostly unchanged for tens of millions of years, making it commonly referred to as a "living fossil." Among 25 sturgeon species worldwide, some can reach 18 feet in size, live anywhere from 30 to 100 years, and some can even reach 4,000 lbs. in weight. As well, several species from Russia and Asia are a source of caviar.
However, the 25 sturgeon species are almost all classified as threatened, endangered, or critically endangered because of commercial overfishing (including demand for caviar and subsequent illegal fishing), damming of native river habitats, and the species' high sensitivity to water pollution and environmental threats.
Sturgeon have a presence in various Northeast rivers including the Delaware and in the Atlantic Ocean, but, to date, not in the Schuylkill. So the creature's appearance in Philly is welcome news for water quality, all thanks to a still-unknown angler who snapped a photo holding his find.
Kate Gibbons is northeastern Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Wilkes-Barre.
