Stock composition of Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) encountered in marine and estuarine environments on the U.S. Atlantic Coast

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Kazyak ◽  
Shannon L. White ◽  
Barbara A. Lubinski ◽  
Robin Johnson ◽  
Michael Eackles
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Oxyrinchus ◽  
The U.S

Anadromous Sturgeons: Habitats, Threats, and Management

2007 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Coastal Fisheries ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Acipenser Oxyrinchus ◽  
The U.S

<em>Abstract.</em>—Large-scale commercial fisheries for Atlantic sturgeon <em>Acipenser oxyrinchus</em> in the late 1880s eventually led to substantial reductions in the population size. The coastwide Atlantic sturgeon population of the United States has not recovered to the levels seen prior to the 1900s. A number of factors have contributed to the slow recovery or continued decline of Atlantic sturgeon populations, including continued commercial fishing and the targeting of females for caviar, bycatch in other fisheries, and changes in habitat due to dam construction and water quality degradation. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) developed the first coastwide management plan for Atlantic sturgeon in 1990. In response to the shortcomings of that plan, the ASMFC applied new standards and the authority granted to it by the U.S. Congress to adopt a coastwide moratorium on all harvesting in 1998. A federal status review conducted in 1998 concluded that the continued existence of Atlantic sturgeon was not threatened given the situation at the time. Since then, monitoring programs have indicated varying levels of relative abundance in several water bodies along the Atlantic coast. The U.S. government is responsible for undertaking a status review to document any changes since the last review and determining whether those findings warrant a threatened or endangered listing for the species. The government’s findings may have far-reaching effects on many other Atlantic coastal fisheries.

Growth and Survival of Hatchery-Produced Atlantic Sturgeon Released as Young-of-Year into the Hudson River, New York

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerre W. Mohler ◽  
John A. Sweka ◽  
Andrew Kahnle ◽  
Kathryn Hattala ◽  
Amanda Higgs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
New York Bight ◽  
Hatchery Fish ◽  
Pectoral Spine ◽  
Acipenser Oxyrinchus ◽  
Pelvic Fin

Abstract In 2007, a team of U.S. scientists performed a status review of Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus and concluded that the species would likely become endangered (U.S. Endangered Species Act 1973, as amended) in the foreseeable future over much of its range, including populations of the New York Bight, which is comprised of the Hudson and Delaware rivers. Therefore, we evaluated an experimental release of hatchery-produced Atlantic sturgeon that took place in 1994 to determine the value of using stocked fish as a population recovery tool. We obtained recapture data on hatchery fish (identified by presence of pelvic fin removal) from the Atlantic Coast Sturgeon Tagging Database. Our evaluation of retention for a pelvic fin removal mark on hatchery fish showed that 36% of clipped individuals retained a clean fin clip after 49 d. The minimum survival rate for hatchery fish to age 5 was estimated to be in the range of 0.49–0.66% using documented recaptures (N  =  24), known number of fish stocked, and results of the pelvic fin removal evaluation. Length and weight-at-age for recaptured hatchery fish at known ages 5–17 were within the range of values reported for wild fish whose ages were estimated by pectoral spine analysis. We also report that one ripe male hatchery fish at age 15 was captured along with other spermiating males at its parental spawning area in the Hudson River in 2009.

‘Backwards talk’ in Smith Island, Maryland

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-47
Author(s):  
Natalie Schilling
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Central Function ◽  
Smith Island ◽  
The Face ◽  
Nonliteral Language ◽  
Potential Loss ◽  
Community Continuity ◽  
The U.S

This article presents an exploration of the discourse-level phenomenon known as ‘backwards talk’ in Smith Island, a small, endangered dialect community in Maryland’s Chespaeake Bay, on the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast. The article examines how backwards talk, basically pervasive, highly creative irony, compares with irony more generally; how it patterns across generations and contexts; how important it is to island residents, who view backwards talk as the defining feature of their dialect; and why the feature has gained such importance in the face of dialect loss - and potential loss of community continuity as well. Because backwards talk is irony, it has important solidarity functions. As playful, nonliteral language, it serves as a symbol of the performed ‘islandness’ that islanders increasingly take up as they come into more and more contact with outsiders. Finally, as a means of offering critical evaluation of outsiders, backwards talk can be seen as a form of anti-language or counterlanguage, with a central function of resistance against outside forces.

Contemporary and historical effective population sizes of Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Waldman ◽  
S. Elizabeth Alter ◽  
Douglas Peterson ◽  
Lorraine Maceda ◽  
Nirmal Roy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Acipenser Oxyrinchus

scholarly journals Atlantic sturgeon movements in relation to a cutterhead dredge in the James River, Virginia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Balazik ◽  
Safra Altman ◽  
Kevin Reine ◽  
Alan Katzenmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Field Study ◽  
Technical Note ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
James River ◽  
Acipenser Oxyrinchus ◽  
Reduced Water

This technical note describes a field study investigating the movements of federally endangered Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus (ATS), during the summer and fall of 2017 near a cutterhead dredge working in the James River, Virginia, to provide data addressing the concern about the potential impacts of dredging activities (for example, excavation, transit, disposal, sounds, reduced water quality) on the ATS.

Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus surfacing behaviour

2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 929-943
Author(s):  
L. M. Logan-Chesney ◽  
M. J. Dadswell ◽  
R. H. Karsten ◽  
I. Wirgin ◽  
M. J. W. Stokesbury
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Oxyrinchus

Anadromous Sturgeons: Habitats, Threats, and Management

2007 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Brackish Water ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Water Interface ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Gill Net ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Class Strength ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Acipenser Oxyrinchus

<em>Abstract</em>.—The anadromous Atlantic sturgeon <em>Acipenser oxyrinchus</em> once supported an important commercial fishery throughout its range (northern Florida, USA, to Labrador, Canada). All surviving populations are apparently depleted, presumably due to overfishing, pollution, and dam construction. A complete moratorium on the fishery has been established in U.S. waters. Unfortunately, population status is unknown for nearly all systems. Several 1994–2001 data sets from South Carolina rivers were examined for their potential in development of recruitment (year-class abundance) indices. Because Atlantic sturgeon often begin leaving their natal systems at age 2, after which they occupy other systems and then presumably return to natal areas at sexual maturity several years later, a valid river-specific abundance index must be based on either age0–1 or adult fish. Working with three former commercial Atlantic sturgeon fishermen to collect adults in two rivers during the spring and fall of 1998 resulted in collection of only 39 fish in 13 nominal age-classes. In another river, 2 years of monthly sampling with multipanel, anchored gill nets and otter trawls at eight stations throughout the estuary produced only 31 juvenile Atlantic sturgeon. Neither of these study designs provided adequate sample sizes. However, sampling in a clean-bottom section at the freshwater–brackish water interface of the Edisto River with a modified drift gill net produced large numbers of small Atlantic sturgeon. More than 3,000 juveniles have been collected and tagged since 1994. The 1,331 nominal age-1 Atlantic sturgeon that were captured displayed a distinct bimodal length frequency distribution, supporting the hypothesis that there are both spring and fall spawning events. A period of record drought impeded sampling efforts during a portion of this study. However, when flows and bottom configurations allow nets to be fished at the freshwater–brackish water interface, the gears and methods employed in the Edisto River can produce an age-1 Atlantic sturgeon catch per unit effort that is high enough to be used in estimating relative year-class strength.

Anadromous Sturgeons: Habitats, Threats, and Management

2007 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Temperature Adaptation ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
The North ◽  
European Sturgeon ◽  
The Baltic

<em>Abstract.</em> - Sea sturgeons are closely related anadromous fishes inhabiting both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. They are classified in two species: the European sturgeon <em>Acipenser sturio</em> in Europe and the Atlantic sturgeon <em>A. oxyrinchus</em> in North America. The Atlantic sturgeon is further separated into two subspecies: Atlantic sturgeon (North American East Coast populations) <em>A. o. oxyrinchus</em> and Gulf sturgeon <em>A. o. desotoi. </em>Most recent studies of morphology and genetics support these classifications. Furthermore, they produced evidence for a trans-Atlantic colonization event during the early Middle Ages. Atlantic sturgeon colonized Baltic waters, founding a self-reproducing population before they became extinct due to anthropogenic reasons. Today, populations of Atlantic sturgeon are found along the Atlantic Coast from the St. Johns River, Florida to the St. Lawrence River, Quebec, whereas only one relict spawning population of European sturgeon still exists in the Gironde River, France. The evidence of a population of Atlantic sturgeon in Baltic waters requires a detailed comparison of both sea sturgeon species, describing differences and similarities, which may influence the ongoing restoration projects in Europe as well as concerning conservation efforts in North America. This article reviews similarities and differences in the fields of genetics, morphology, and ecological adaptation of European sturgeon and Atlantic sturgeon, concluding that, besides morphological and genetic differences, a wider range of spawning temperatures in Atlantic sturgeon is evident. This wider temperature adaptation may be a selective advantage under fast-changing climatic conditions, possibly the mechanism that enabled the species shift in the Baltic Sea during the Middle Ages.

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