Jurassic Fish

New perils for the prehistoric survivor off our shores.

Hidden in the depths of the mighty Delaware River, something ancient lurks! The Atlantic Sturgeon is as big as a Great White Shark, covered in spiked, bony plates like a Stegosaurus, with a whiskered shovel-shaped snout. It’s a living fossil from the earliest age of dinosaurs, who survived a cataclysmic event that wiped out 75% of life on the planet, only to be pushed to the brink of extinction by modern human advancements.

This massive, migratory sturgeon once thrived along North America’s east cost from Newfoundland to Florida. More than a quarter million made up a distinct mid-Atlantic population, which supported a booming caviar industry in the Delaware Bay. Due to heavy overfishing, though, catches swiftly dwindled and by the early 1900s the fish was almost entirely wiped out. The economic bubble burst, and strict limits on harvesting were implemented.

By the mid 1990’s, the sturgeon was poised for a full comeback but sadly new threats emerged: ship strikes, trawl fishing, commercial dredging, mass habitat destruction. Today, less than 1,000 sturgeons are left in the mid-Atlantic gene pool – barely 200 adults are believed to survive in the Delaware River. Once again, we’re critically close to losing this unique local lifeform forever.

Sturgeons are not just physically impressive, they also lead remarkable lives spanning a variety of aquatic environments. While adults mostly live in the sea, they spawn in freshwater channels like the Delaware River, from its inlet all the way up to the Port of Philadelphia.

This area also serves as a nursey for juvenile sturgeons, which can take many years to mature depending on environmental conditions like water temperature, dissolved oxygen, food availability, etc. These factors also affect the sturgeon’s breeding cycle – adults don’t spawn every year, but instead seem to take cues from their surroundings, waiting as long as five years between spawns. As you can imagine, a creature this sensitive to its natural habitat creates existential challenges in today’s climate crisis.

Our local population of Atlantic Sturgeon has been protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act since 2012 but today its situation is so dire the Delaware Riverkeepers recently hosted a symbolic funeral at City Hall to draw public awareness. This July, they initiated a lawsuit with other conservationists demanding interstate enforcement of federal protections to preserve this unique genetic legacy from prehistoric times.

Meanwhile, the City has announced plans to bring cruise ships up the Delaware! In 2026, Norwegian Cruise Line is slated to start boarding from the Port of Philadelphia, bringing thousands of new jobs, millions in annual revenue, and as-yet unforeseen environmental impact. The good news is that this infrastructure development opens the door for ecological studies, regulations, and technologies that could improve outcomes for sturgeon and other wildlife.

How You Can Help: The Delaware Riverkeeper Network coordinates advocates and volunteers to defend this vital watershed and priceless living resource. For sturgeon updates, see DinosInTheDelaware.org. For public info and meetings, follow @PhilaPort and Councilmember Mark Squilla, who represents the riverfront area where the Port of Philadelphia is located.

🦈🦕 TOP TEN STURGEON STATS 🤓🌊

1. Sturgeons are one of the oldest fish alive today, existing for over 120 million years.
2. The largest sturgeon recorded was 14+ feet long and weighed more than 800 pounds.
3. A sturgeon’s lifespan is typically 35 to 60 years, with some individuals living more than a century.
4. A sturgeon’s whiskers are sensory organs that can detect texture, movement, and even chemical cues to locate food hidden in murky waters and sediment.
5. Sturgeons eat mostly invertebrates like worms, shrimp, crabs, snails, and larvae; they also suck up small fish and organic detritus in river bottoms and ocean floors.
6. Though sturgeons are not aggressive to humans, they have been known to cause damage to people and property when they leap and accidentally collide with boaters.
7. Atlantic sturgeon roe is known as “black gold” in the caviar industry, prized for its refined taste and revered history as one of the world’s first luxury foods.
8. For many Native Americans, the sturgeon was an important food source and a symbol of endurance and abundance.
9. In medieval England, the sturgeon was considered a “royal fish”, meaning any that were caught legally belonged to the monarchy.
10. In June 2024, a young 200 pound female sturgeon was netted (and released) in the waters off Hyde Park, about 85 miles north of NYC.

We hope you have enjoyed this month’s Local Wildlife Feature. Thoughts? Questions? Please leave in the Comments below. Check out last month’s spotlight on local butterflies.