Giant 220-pound sturgeon caught just upstream of New York River

A group of New York fisheries biologists caught a massive Atlantic sturgeon in the Hudson River in late June. Using live nets and under a research permit, they caught the 200-pound prehistoric fish near Hyde Park, just 80 miles upriver from the Big Apple. The fishing expedition was part of a longer-term Hudson River sturgeon population assessment that has been underway since 2006.

In a Facebook post, staff with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson Estuary Program said the fish was more than six feet long and weighed about 220 pounds. They believe the sturgeon was a female that had not yet spawned. After measuring the fish, they took a fin sample for genetic analysis, then tagged and released the fish.

Because Atlantic sturgeon are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act, it is illegal to target or possess them in New York. The only exception is for scientific purposes, and NYDEC fisheries personnel are authorized to capture and release fish under a research permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Biologists conduct most of this research in the spring and early summer, when Atlantic sturgeon migrate up the Hudson and other coastal rivers to spawn. An anadromous species, they spend the rest of the year in the ocean and can be found along the East Coast in isolated numbers.

Amanda Higgs, a fisheries biologist with NYDEC, says the Atlantic sturgeon they caught earlier this month was one of the largest they’ve seen, but they’ve caught individuals as large as 300 pounds. Higgs says based on population data collected since 2006, they estimate about 500 Atlantic sturgeon return to the Hudson River each year to spawn. She adds that results from this year’s population study won’t be available for at least a year.

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New York State is home to three different species of sturgeon, including the shortnose sturgeon and the lake sturgeon. Atlantics are the largest of the three and can weigh over 800 pounds. It is also a species of prehistoric fish, with archaeological records dating back more than 120 million years. The largest Atlantic sturgeon ever recorded weighed 811 pounds and was caught off the coast of Canada, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.