Program objectives
     The sturgeon restoration program at Horn Point Laboratory (HPL) is a collaborative effort among numerous private, state, and federal partners to advance the science and technology of restoring the Atlantic sturgeon in the mid-Atlantic region. One purpose is to increase the knowledge of the current population status and ecology of this fish, and of environmental challenges to its recovery.
      A key to our long-term ability to evaluate the potential for restoration involves test releases of hatchery reared juveniles spawned by using wild-caught fish. Current efforts at HPL focus on establishing a captive broodstock population for future spawning and release, research into feed training and diet studies, and development of hatchery technology.

Present Situation
     Due to a decline in populations of shortnose sturgeon as a result of over-fishing, dam construction, deforestation, and habitat destruction throughout the Atlantic coast, the species was listed as an endangered species by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 1967. Subsequently, a moratorium on US commercial harvest of Atlantic sturgeon was established in 1997. Current estimates for the Chesapeake Bay suggest that the shortnose population is extirpated, or too low to sustain a viable population. Recently, increased numbers of fish caught near the Susquehanna and Potomac Rivers were determined to have migrated through the C&D canal from the Delaware River. The situation for Atlantic sturgeon appears to be similar, with only two observations of young-of-year fish in Chesapeake Bay in the past 45 years. The white sturgeon, found on the Pacific coast, stills exists in adequate numbers to support a recreational and guide fishing industry and is also being cultured on farms for meat and caviar.

Life History and Recovery Implications 
      The unique life history of sturgeon has contributed to population declines of various species and presents challenges for their recovery. Like most sturgeon, Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon are anadromous, living in salt or brackish waters and migrating into freshwater to spawn. Given this reproductive requirement, it is easy to understand the negative effect that damming rivers has had on sturgeon spawning and populations. Another reproductive characteristic of sturgeons that adds to the challenge of recovery is the relatively long period (5 to 30 years depending on species and location) required to reach sexual maturity. In addition, sturgeon may only spawn once every two to three years.  By contrast, many fishes, including the anadromous striped bass, begin to spawn at three to four years of age, and can spawn every year.
     Adult sturgeon begin migrating  into freshwater rivers to spawn in late winter and early spring, seeking a hard or pebble/gravel bottom with water currents capable of preventing settling of sediments. Soil erosion from human disturbances or weather events can significantly increase sediment deposition and degrade sturgeon spawning grounds. Additionally, young and adult sturgeon are bottom feeders that prefer small crustaceans, bivalves, and worms. Excessive sediment accumulation and hypoxic bottom conditions caused by eutrophication and elevated nitrogenous compounds can further affect sturgeon negatively, especially fry and juveniles. To be effective, restoration or recovery efforts must take these special characteristics and spawning habitat needs into account.

     This approach was investigated in 1996 when Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conducted an  experimental stock enhancement project by stocking 3,000 juvenile Atlantic sturgeon in the Nanticoke river on the Eastern Shore.  A reward program was established and 14% of these fish were recaptured from stocking to 2001, indicating good survival. In addition to the capture of stocked fish, over 500 wild sub-adult Atlantic sturgeon were caught, but no wild juvenile fish. The results of the project further supports the notion that it is unlikely that Atlantic sturgeon are currently reproducing in Maryland, but that the potential for using hatchery-reared fish for restoration is promising. 

Restoration plans and outlook
      Successful recovery of sturgeon hinges on many factors, including spawning and nursery habitat restoration, pollution reduction and other water quality improvement, and potential reintroduction of stocks. Recovery and management plans have been developed for both species to integrate these and other factors. The Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a consortium of all 15 of the Atlantic coast states’ fisheries resource management agencies, regulates Atlantic sturgeon and has developed a protocol for stock enhancement. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), is responsible for marine and anadromous species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and therefore regulates shortnose sturgeon. NFMS, through a specified recovery team, has also developed guidelines for restoration of shortnose sturgeon in a comprehensive recovery plan. Both plans review current populations and habitat and water quality enhancement needs. They also address other important considerations of recovery such as concern over genetic diversity and long-term viability of stocks including potential hatchery supplementation.
      Through DNA analysis, it has been determined that fish from specific rivers or adjacent rivers have distinct genetic characteristics. In the ASMFC breeding and stocking protocol for cultured sturgeon, specific recommendations on broodstock sources and hatchery production programs are presented to address genetic diversity concerns. Among these recommendations are:

• Use broodfish from the same river (preferred source) or adjacent river (if only source available) to be stocked
• Give highest priority for stocking to populations that are determined to be extirpated
• Use a pool of  least 100 broodfish representing a minimum of six year classes, with stocking to be continued for many years
• Stock a maximum of 50,000 fingerlings per female per season, with all fish tagged or marked and monitored

Final Recovery Plan for the Shortnose Sturgeon, NFMS (pdf)

Maryland DNR Hatcheries and Fisheries Restoration Program

Secor, D.H. and E.J. Niklitschek. 2001. Hypoxia and sturgeons: report to the Chesapeake Bay Program dissolved oxygen criteria team. Technical Report Series No. TS-314-01-CBL; Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Solomons, Maryland.

Secor, D.H., P.A. Anders, W. Van Winkle, and D.A. Dixon. 2002. Can we study sturgeon to extinction? What we know and don’t know about the conservation of North American sturgeons. American Fisheries Society Symposium 28:3-10.