Shortnose sturgeon

Description

The shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) is a small North American sturgeon,which can be found in 16 to 19 large river and estuary systems along the Atlantic seaboard from the Saint John River in New Brunswick,Canada,to the St.Johns River in Florida,United States.Populations may be disjunct,evidenced by lack of records in the sea outside the influence of their home river and minimal captures of tagged individuals outside the river in which they were tagged.The species is sometimes mistaken for juvenile Atlantic sturgeon,as adults of this species are similar in size to juveniles of that species.Prior to 1973,U.S.commercial fishing records did not differentiate between the two species,both were reported as "common sturgeon",although it is believed based on sizes that the bulk of the catch was Atlantic sturgeon.