Conservation groups are suing the U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, and Delaware over the taking of endangered Atlantic sturgeon as bycatch in state-run fisheries.
“The Atlantic sturgeon of the Delaware and Hudson rivers are at imminent risk of extinction – killed by dredging, deepening, vessel strikes, habitat loss, pollution, and bycatch due to multiple commercial fisheries,” Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum said in a statement. “At every turn, our state and federal agencies have failed to take action to protect the sturgeon.”
The Delaware Riverkeeper Network and New York-based Riverkeeper, both of which are nonprofit organizations, filed individual lawsuits in all three states alleging that state regulators are not taking adequate steps to protect Atlantic sturgeon from extinction.
“The Atlantic sturgeon, an ancient sentinel of the Hudson River, stands on the brink of extinction due to a failure of regulatory oversight,” Riverkeeper President Tracy Brown said in a statement. “Our legal action is not merely about enforcing compliance; it’s about confronting a systemic failure that has jeopardized a species teetering on the edge of disappearance. The states of New York, New Jersey, and Delaware have had ample time to rectify their violations and protect these critical fish, yet they have failed to act decisively. We are determined to see that the promises of the Endangered Species Act are upheld and that the Atlantic sturgeon can once again thrive in their historic habitats.”
Atlantic sturgeon, which live in the Delaware River and the Hudson River, were first listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2012.
Conservation groups note, however, that sturgeon continue to be caught as bycatch by commercial fishing vessels operating in the summer flounder, longfin inshore squid, bluefish, scup, tautog, winter flounder, weakfish, winter skate, silver hake, and little skate fisheries. According to the lawsuit, total annual mortality for Atlantic sturgeon in New York and New Jersey is estimated at 11.7 percent, three times higher than the threshold for population recovery. The groups claim bycatch accounts for more than half of that annual mortality.
“The Delaware River population, when viewed on its own, is the most endangered sturgeon population in the world, with fewer than 250 spawning adults left. It is shocking that for over a decade, both the states and the federal government have had heightened authority to protect the Atlantic sturgeon of our region and have intentionally failed to act in defense of this ancient fish,” van Rossum said.
