Shortnose Sturgeon

Shortnose sturgeon live in rivers and coastal waters from Canada to Florida. They hatch in the freshwater of rivers and spend most of their time in the estuaries of these rivers. Unlike Atlantic sturgeon, shortnose sturgeon tend to spend relatively little time in the ocean. When they do enter marine waters, they generally stay close to shore. In the spring, adults move far upstream and away from saltwater, to spawn. After spawning, the adults move rapidly back downstream to the estuaries, where they feed, rest, and spend most of their time.

Shortnose sturgeon have five rows of bony plates known as scutes. This unique fish looks like it is covered in armor. Shortnose sturgeon are slow-growing and late-maturing, and they have been recorded to reach up to 4.5 feet in length and live 30 years or more.

Native American fishermen harvested shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon for their meat and eggs (roe) some 4,000 years ago, and sturgeon are credited as the primary food source that saved the Jamestown settlers in 1607. In the mid-1800s, Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon began to support a thriving and profitable fishery for caviar, smoked meat, and oil. For the most part, historical landings records failed to differentiate between shortnose sturgeon and the larger Atlantic sturgeon, making it difficult to determine historical trends in abundance for populations of either species difficult to determine. By the late-1800s, sturgeon were being over-exploited. In 1890, over 7 million pounds of sturgeon were caught in 1 year alone. In 1920, only 23,000 pounds of sturgeon were caught.

Although shortnose sturgeon are no longer fished, threats remain that continue to affect recovery efforts. Bycatch in commercial fisheries and increased industrial uses (e.g., hydropower, nuclear power, treated sewage disposal) of the nation’s large coastal rivers during the 20th century became the primary barriers to shortnose sturgeon recovery.

Today, the shortnose sturgeon is in danger of extinction throughout its range and is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The primary threats to this species are habitat degradation, water pollution, dredging, water withdrawals, fisheries bycatch, and habitat impediments (e.g., dams).

NOAA Fisheries and its partners are dedicated to conserving and rebuilding shortnose sturgeon populations along the East Coast. We use a variety of innovative techniques to study, protect, and recover these endangered fish. Working closely with our partners, we develop regulations and management plans that preserve and restore sturgeon habitat, monitor bycatch, and promote population recovery.

Distribution

Historically, shortnose sturgeon were found in the coastal rivers along the East Coast of North America—from the Saint John River in New Brunswick, Canada, to the St. Johns River in Florida, and perhaps as far south as the Indian River in Florida. Currently, shortnose sturgeon can be found in 41 bays and rivers along the East Coast, but their distribution across this range is broken up, with a large gap of about 250 miles separating the northern and mid-Atlantic metapopulations from the southern metapopulation. Because of this distance between the shortnose sturgeon in mid-Atlantic/northern metapopulations and the southern metapopulation, adults from the two areas may never meet to breed.

In the southern metapopulation, shortnose sturgeon are currently found in the Great Pee Dee, Waccamaw, Edisto, Cooper, Santee, Altamaha, Ogeechee, and Savannah rivers. They may also be found in the Black, Sampit, Ashley, Roanoke, and Cape Fear rivers, as well as Albemarle Sound and Pamlico Sound. Shortnose sturgeon used to be considered extinct in the Satilla, St. Marys, and the St. Johns rivers, but were recently found again in both the Satilla and St. Marys rivers. A single specimen was found in the St. Johns River by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission during extensive sampling of the river in 2002 and 2003.

In the northern and mid-Atlantic metapopulations, shortnose sturgeon are currently found in the Saint John (Canada), Penobscot, Kennebec, Androscoggin, Piscataqua, Merrimack, Connecticut, Hudson, Delaware, and Potomac rivers. They have also been frequently spotted opportunistically foraging and transiting in the St. George, Medomak, Damariscotta, Sheepscot, Saco, Deerfield, East, and Susquehanna rivers. On rare occasions, they have been seen in the Narraguagus, Presumpscot, Westfield, Housatonic, Schuylkill, Rappahannock, and James rivers.

There are also two dam-locked populations of shortnose sturgeon that have been trapped upstream of these dams since their construction. Populations can be found above the Holyoke Dam on the Connecticut River, and the Pinopolis, Wilson, and St. Stephens dams on the Santee and Cooper rivers in South Carolina. Shortnose sturgeon can also be found trapped above the dams on the Santee-Cooper system in Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, as well as the Congaree and Wateree rivers.

Shortnose sturgeon can grow to approximately 4.5 feet long and weigh up to 60 pounds. They are yellowish-brown and generally have a black head, back, and sides. Their bellies are white to yellow. They have five major rows of scutes and a protruding snout with four barbels (fleshy, whisker-like projections).

Shortnose sturgeon are similar in appearance to Atlantic sturgeon, but can be distinguished by their smaller size, larger mouth, smaller snout shape, and tail scute pattern. 

Spawning adults generally migrate upriver in spring, from January to April in the South, April to May in the Mid-Atlantic, and May to June in Canadian waters. After spawning, the adults typically move quickly back downstream to the lower river and estuaries. Juveniles move downstream and live in brackish waters for a few months.

Shortnose sturgeon use their four barbels to search for food in the sandy, muddy bottom of rivers. They use a vacuum-like mouth to suck up this bottom-dwelling food, typically eating invertebrates such as insects, crustaceans, worms, and mollusks.

Historically, shortnose sturgeon were found in the coastal rivers along the East Coast of North America from the Saint John River, New Brunswick, Canada, to the St. Johns River, Florida, and perhaps as far south as the Indian River in Florida. Currently, shortnose sturgeon occur in 41 bays and rivers along the East Coast, reproducing in 19 of them.

For the most part, shortnose sturgeon are amphidromous fish—meaning they are born in freshwater, then live in their birth (natal) river, make short feeding or migratory trips into salt water, and then return to freshwater to feed and escape predation. All sturgeon, including shortnose sturgeon, spawn in freshwater.

Lifespan is correlated with how far north or south shortnose sturgeon live, with adults reaching up to 60 years in Canada, but likely only 10 to 20 years in the Southeast. Southern populations tend to grow faster and reach sexual maturity at an earlier age than other populations. For example, shortnose sturgeon mature in South Carolina and Georgia rivers around 2 to 5 years of age, in the Hudson River at 7 to 10 years, and in the St. Johns River (Canada) at 12 to 18 years.

Male shortnose sturgeon usually spawn every 1 to 2 years once they mature, while females spawn every 3 to 5 years. The number of eggs females can produce is correlated with age and body size and ranges from 30,000 to 200,000 per year.

The most significant threats to the species are dams that block access to spawning areas or lower parts of rivers, poor water quality, dredging, water withdrawals from rivers, and unintended catch in some commercial fisheries.

Habitat Impediments

Locks and dams on the Cape Fear River, North Carolina, and Santee-Cooper River, South Carolina; Savannah River, South Carolina/Georgia; and the Connecticut River impede access to upstream spawning habitat. The dams on the Santee-Cooper system also prevent shortnose sturgeon from traveling downstream, below the dams, to areas with better food sources.

For the past several years, NOAA Fisheries has been working with Holyoke Gas and Electric to improve fish passage on the Holyoke Dam on the Connecticut River. In 2017, the station opened a modified fishway, which consists of two “lifts” that carry migrating fish up and over the dam. For the first time in 20 years, shortnose sturgeon passed upstream of the dam. So far, 85 shortnose sturgeon have been counted at the fishway in 2017. In 2018, 91 shortnose sturgeon were counted at the fishway. 

Habitat Degradation

Habitats can be disrupted or lost because of various human activities, such as dredging, dams, water withdrawals, saltwater intrusion (often caused by groundwater pumping from freshwater wells or dredging), chemical contamination of sediments in rearing areas, and other development.

Fisheries Interactions and Bycatch

Fisherman sometimes accidentally capture shortnose sturgeon while trying to catch something else. This is called bycatch and occurs primarily in gillnet fisheries; however, shortnose sturgeon have also been captured in pound nets, fyke/hoop nets, catfish pots, shrimp trawls, and even recreational hooks and lines.

The prevalence and likelihood of bycatch varies by time of year. Time of year also impacts the likelihood of the sturgeon’s survival (i.e., survival is more likely in colder water) and influences the life stages that are caught. Fisheries conducted within rivers and estuaries may intercept any life stage, while fisheries conducted in the nearshore and ocean are more likely to capture migrating adults. The likelihood that an accidentally caught shortnose sturgeon will die in a gillnet appears to be related to water quality, how the net is set, and how long the net is left before being tended. Overall, gillnets not tethered to anything (“drift gillnets”) have lower capture rates than those attached to the bottom. The longer a net is in the water the greater the chance a captured shortnose sturgeon will die, and death is more likely when waters are warm.