200-pound Atlantic sturgeon caught in the Hudson River, according to NYSDEC

HUDSON RIVER (WABC) — A 200-pound fish was caught in the Hudson River last week, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Last week, during a survey of Atlantic sturgeon, Hudson River Estuary Fisheries Program staff caught a fish that was more than 6 feet long and weighed about 220 pounds.

NYSDEC said the fish was suspected to be a female that had not yet spawned.

The Atlantic sturgeon is an endangered anadromous fish species that spends most of the year in the ocean, but adults move into the Hudson River to spawn at this time of year.

When in the ocean, they migrate from Florida to Maine.

It is the largest fish in the Hudson River and the largest sturgeon species in New York State, according to the NYSDEC.

According to the NYSDEC, New York has three species: Atlantic sturgeon, shortnose sturgeon and lake sturgeon.

The fish was captured under a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Endangered Species Research Permit No. 20340.

This annual survey, which began in 2006, is conducted over several weeks in May and June and tracks trends in the Atlantic sturgeon population.

Staff used nets to capture the fish, measure them, scan them for a tag, take a piece of fin for genetic analysis and weigh them before releasing them into the wild.