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4/9/2007 It’s a Boy and He’s a Whopper! Rarest Large Fish in North America Captured in Alabama River, Second Biggest
On Thursday, April 5, you
could cut the tension with a knife – no pun intended – in the State fish
holding facilities of Marion State Hatchery and Alabama’s Biodiversity
Center. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR)
Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division Fisheries Assistant Chief Nick
Nichols, with scalpel in hand, made a small incision in the underbelly of
the very rare Alabama sturgeon. Those assisting and observing the
procedure held their breath…Is it boy or a girl? Is it fertile and
healthy? After examining the sturgeon, Nichols announced, “It’s a male and
he’s not in the reproductive phase.” It was both good news and bad news
for biologists who have been chasing the elusive species for many years.
Forget the bad news that
there won’t be baby sturgeons in the near future. The good news is that
the Alabama sturgeon is on record, the second largest of its species
captured, measuring 785 mm (31 inches) and most likely, when released back
into the wild, will lead fisheries biologists to others of its kind. The
largest Alabama sturgeon on record measured 810 mm (32 inches) and was
caught back in 1953 in the Tombigbee River in Sumter County. The last
Alabama sturgeon caught was in 1999.
During the recent
surgery, a sonic tag was inserted into the fish believed to be the rarest
large fish collected in North America in the past seven years. The tag
will allow the fish’s movements to be tracked to determine if other
Alabama sturgeons are in the area and locations where the species migrate
upstream to spawn. This is very important information about the species
listed as federally endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS), said USFWS Warm Springs Hatchery Manager Carlos Echevarría. “The
data collected from this unique species will help in the efforts to
recover more so they can continue to be studied, propagated, and
protected.” Spawning conditions don’t occur often according to sturgeon
experts. In fact, conditions must be perfect in regard to both the male
and female meaning both fish must be in the fertile cycle at the same time
to successfully spawn. The signal the tracking device will emit for
approximately the next four years will help biologists learn about the
fish’s movements and may lead to the capture a female sturgeon. If that
female produces eggs ready for fertilization, they will be mixed with
previously frozen male sturgeon sperm to hopefully produce thousands of
young.
ADCNR Fisheries Biologist
Steve Rider and Biologist Aides Travis Powell and Tom Ringenbergcaught the
elusive Alabama sturgeon at around 8 a.m. below the Claiborne Lock and Dam
on the Alabama River on Tuesday, April 3, 2007. Out gathering data on
paddlefish, the three were in disbelief when they found the fish tangled
in a net they pulled in. “We were pretty excited because we knew we had
something special,” said Rider. “We haven’t caught one of these since
August 1999 and catching a fish this rare shows that the species is
hanging on, that they’re still out there, and we need to do all we can to
preserve and protect the species.”
Alabama sturgeon were
once found in the Cahaba, Alabama, Black Warrior and Tombigbee River
systems. Construction of multi-purpose dams has reduced the historical
range of this species significantly. In 1993 the Alabama Sturgeon
Conservation Plan was implemented with the support of private
organizations and various state and federal agencies. The Division of
Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries has taken the lead role in this recovery
effort, which includes the collecting, holding and spawning of adult
sturgeon to produce young that can be stocked in areas of the state where
they were historically found. Intense efforts of Division of Wildlife and
Freshwater Fisheries personnel have led to the capture of six Alabama
sturgeons since that time.
Dr. Bernie Kuhajda, in
the Biological Sciences Division of The University of Alabama, has been
studying the Alabama sturgeon for nearly 15 years. “After hearing about
the capture, I couldn’t sleep that night because I was so excited knowing
that I would be onsite the next day with such a rare find,” Kuhajda said.
“Since the species was listed as endangered in 2000, no specimens have
been collected. With an ancestry that dates back 75,000 years, finding one
now indicates that the species is still part of the Alabama River
ecosystem and is something we need to study and protect.”
Since the species is
listed as endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act, certain
regulations must be followed if anglers catch an Alabama sturgeon. Nichols
asks for the public’s cooperation by saying, “It is imperative that if
caught, the fish is released immediately if not showing signs of distress.
Take a photo if possible without harming the fish and then call our office
to report the catch and location.” For more information on the Alabama
sturgeon, visit
www.outdooralabama.com or www.fws.gov.
The Alabama Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management
and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through five divisions:
Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Parks, State Lands, and Wildlife
and Freshwater Fisheries. To learn more about ADCNR visit
www.outdooralabama.com.
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