Protected shortnose sturgeon found in Schuylkill
The angler remains unknown to officials. But in a photo one of his buddies took before the fish was released back into the Schuylkill, the species was unmistakable.
The angler remains unknown to officials.
But in a photo one of his buddies took before the fish was released back into the Schuylkill, the species was unmistakable.
The catch last summer just below the Fairmount Dam was a shortnose sturgeon, on the endangered list since 1967.
Although they are known to live in the Delaware River, no historic records indicate shortnose sturgeon in the Schuylkill. And in 14 years of fish sampling below the dam, aquatic biologists with the Philadelphia Water Department have never seen one.
Yet there it was, held up by the angler, with the dam and the Art Museum in the background.
Officials see this as a positive sign for the shortnose sturgeon.
"It's a good find," said Greg Murphy, a fisheries biologist with the state Fish and Boat Commission. One individual means others likely are there, "but this is the first one we've heard of or seen."
It also says good things about water quality.
The sturgeon is "quite sensitive" to the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water, "more sensitive than other fish," said Hal Brundage, a Kennett Square fisheries researcher and sturgeon expert. "If you have concentrations to sustain a sturgeon, that means water quality is improving."
Indeed, the presence of the shortnose is viewed as the best sign of improved water quality since an underwater camera grabbed a cameo of a river otter - famously picky about the water it inhabits - swimming through the Fairmount fish ladder in 2005.
The Water Department regularly samples fish in the Schuylkill for one simple reason: "We drink the rivers," said Joe Perillo, an aquatic biologist with the department. "Keeping an eye on the abundance and diversity and composition of fish in our waterways gives us a good indication of how healthy the water is."
Although the department's samplings have yet to bring in any shortnose sturgeon, the diversity of fish has increased over the years. When sampling first was done, they were counting 35 to 37 species. Now, up to 50.
"These are the species that we've confirmed, identified, and continue to see on our regular monitoring program," said Lance Butler, also an aquatic biologist with the department. "I believe it has a direct relationship to the improved water quality and improved habitat."
The researchers also are seeing a few species they'd rather not - ones that are considered invasive, including the fathead catfish. Perhaps even worse is the northern snakehead, an eellike fish from Asia that has needle-sharp teeth, can drag itself across land, and is a voracious predator of native fish.
Found in a lake in South Philadelphia's Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in 2004, it has since spread to adjacent waterways.
Perillo said that at first, the Water Department found just one or two snakeheads in the Schuylkill. Last year, however, as many as 27 were caught in a day; snakeheads dominated that day's catch.
"What we don't have is empirical evidence as to the impact of these invasive species," Butler said.
Officials found out about last summer's sturgeon catch after the angler showed the photo later that day at Bob's Bait & Tackle Shop on Ridge Avenue in East Falls. Another customer saw it and contacted the commission, where experts confirmed the fish's identity.
The shortnose sturgeon, which grows to about 31/2 feet, is a close relative of the Atlantic sturgeon, once a dominant commercial fishery in the Delaware. The Atlantic sturgeon's eggs were so prized that the Delaware was for a time the caviar capital of the world.
Both are ugly, prehistoric-looking fish, sometimes described as dinosaurs with fins.
Pollution and overfishing led to their decline. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added Atlantic sturgeon to the endangered species list in 2012.
Brundage, the Kennett Square researcher, was not entirely surprised to learn of the odd catch on the Schuylkill.
Although their presence is more likely on the main stem of the Delaware, "they do wander," he said. "It's part of their life strategy. They're looking for new habitats."
Brundage cautioned that anyone who catches one should not keep it for posterity. Like the angler last summer, grab a photo and release the fish.
"They are protected," he said. "If fishermen catch them, they should release them as gently and as quickly as possible. Both for the sake of the sturgeon and to avoid any potential fines."
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