Big fish, again

One of the world's great fish is in even more trouble than we realized. The IUCN has reclassified the beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) as critically endangered. A new study appearing in Conservation Biology, based on data obtained from sturgeon captured in the Ural River population of Caspian Sea beluga sturgeon, suggests that the current conservation strategy is flawed. Rather than depending on the release of hatchery-raised juveniles, the authors feel that the sturgeon can only be saved if current overfishing of the adult stock is ended. They feel that the current take of adult sturgeon is perhaps five times that that the population can support.

Sturgeon, in general, may be the world's most critically endangered vertebrates. Virtually all of the 27 sturgeon species are in need of enhanced protection. Locally, our Alabama sturgeon may be the most endangered vertebrate in the U.S.