Annual tagging program hopes to answer the question

From New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation

Since 2003, fish biologists in DEC’s Hudson and Delaware Marine Fisheries unit have been studying the population, life cycle, and habitats of the endangered Atlantic sturgeon to manage and conserve this signature species.

Atlantic sturgeon spawned in the Hudson spend one to six years in the river before they migrate to the ocean. Annual counting and tagging of the young fish helps determine how the relative abundance (population) is changing over time in response to management actions such as the coast-wide fishing moratorium that was established in 1998. By analyzing several years’ worth of catch data, biologists can determine population trends in the Hudson River stock. Is it stable? Increasing? Decreasing?

The juvenile Atlantic sturgeon survey takes place in late February through early May in Haverstraw Bay, an overwintering area for these young fish. Fisheries staff use anchored gill nets to catch the sturgeon. The sturgeon are weighed, measured for length, and examined for previous tags. A small sample is taken from each fish for genetic and age analysis. Untagged fish are tagged under the dorsal fin with a Passive Integrated Transponder or PIT tag. This tag is similar to a microchip put in pets and is about the size of a grain of rice.

Since the start of the program in 2004, standardized monitoring suggests the Hudson River stock may be recovering in response to the coast-wide fishing moratorium. Additional years of monitoring will help establish recovery targets for the species as a whole.

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