Since the age of the dinosaurs, Green Sturgeons have roamed the Pacific Ocean and select rivers on the West Coast, remaining almost entirely unchanged in their appearance for more than 200 million years. This ancient fish can reach over 7 feet in length and migrated in huge numbers until very recently, so one would not expect that it would have become the obscure species that it is today. The Green Sturgeon is one of the many forgotten wonders of the North Coast, and for the first time in its long history, it has slipped quietly towards the brink of extinction.
On June 11, EPIC, with the
Center for Biological Diversity and
Waterkeepers Northern California, formally petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service ("NMFS") to protect the Green Sturgeon and its habitat under the federal Endangered Species Act ("ESA"). The American Fisheries Society recently released a status review of the Green Sturgeon that concludes that the species has declined by 88% throughout most of its range and is in danger of becoming extinct.
Green Sturgeon are among the largest and longest living species found in freshwater, living up to 70 years and weighing up to 350 pounds. They resemble some sort of prehistoric creature, possessing a skeleton that is more cartilage than bone and rows of bony plates for protection rather than scales. Green Sturgeon are olive green in color and have a vacuum cleaner-like mouth that is used to siphon food.
- California's Green Sturgeon Listed as Threatened Species (April 7, 2006 - 30KB PDF)
The National Marine Fisheries Service will list the green sturgeon population that lives south of the Eel River in Humboldt County as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
- Feds List Some Green Sturgeon As Threatened (April 7, 2006 - 54KB PDF)
The National Marine Fisheries Service is listing the southern green sturgeon, a fish that can reach 7 feet long and weigh 350 pounds, as a threatened species.
- Fisheries Service to Protect Green Sturgeon in Sacramento River, Refuses to Extend Protection to Klamath Basin (April 5, 2005)
Conservationists Decry Failure to List Species Throughout Range
Responding to a court order obtained by conservation groups, the National Marine Fisheries Service ("NMFS") announced today that it intends to protect the southern population of the North American green stur...
- Green sturgeon get partial protection (April 5, 2005)
The Eureka Times-Standard
- Court Rules in Favor of Conservation Groups Seeking Protection of Prehistoric Fish (March 3, 2004)
ESA Listing Decision on Green Sturgeon Remanded Back to Federal Fisheries Service
San Francisco, CA - A Northern District of California Court ruled yesterday in favor of three conservation organizations seeking to protect the green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) under the federal...
- EPIC Asks Court to Protect Jurassic Fish: Challenge Seeks Reversal of Sturgeon Decision (June 1, 2003)
Few species can evoke such feelings of awe and respect as the prehistoric green sturgeon. Its sheer size and impressive body structure alone is enough to captivate one's attention, weighing up to 350 pounds ...
- Groups Ask Court to Protect Prehistoric Fish (April 8, 2003)
Legal Action Seeks to Reverse Fateful Decision on Green Sturgeon
San Francisco, CA - Conservation organizations are asking a federal court to overturn a January 2003 decision by the Bush Administration to not protect the green sturgeon under the Endangered Species Act, ch...
- Groups File Lawsuit to Protect Green Sturgeon (November 14, 2002)
Contemporaries of the Dinosaurs, Sturgeon Fossils Date Back 200 Million Years
Conservation organizations filed a lawsuit in federal court today against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for its failure to make a determination to list the North American green sturgeon, Acipe...
- Action to Protect the Prehistoric Green Sturgeon (November 4, 2002)
EPIC, Center for Biological Diversity, and ONRC v. National Marine Fisheries Service - Prehistoric Fish Moves a Step Closer Toward Protection (February 1, 2002)
An increasingly rare prehistoric fish species may soon gain protected status, as the National Marine Fisheries Service made a positive ruling in December 2001 to consider EPIC's petition to protect the Green...
- Federal Register notice on Green Sturgeon listing (December 14, 2001)
- Green Sturgeon Moves Closer to Protected Status (December 14, 2001)
The National Marine Fisheries Service ("NMFS") made a formal finding today that listing the green sturgeon as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act ("ESA") may be warranted. The finding is b...
- Protected Status Sought for Prehistoric Fish (June 11, 2001)
Conservation Groups Petition To List the Green Sturgeon as Endangered
Three conservation organizations filed a formal petition today to list a dwindling fish species, the green sturgeon, as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. The Environmental Protection Infor...
- Petition to List the North American Green Sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) as an Endangered or Threatened Species Under the Endangered Species Act (June 1, 2001)
Executive Summary - Protection Sought For Primeval Fish Species: Action Needed to Protect the Green Sturgeon (June 1, 2001)
Since the age of the dinosaurs, Green Sturgeons have roamed the Pacific Ocean and select rivers on the West Coast, remaining almost entirely unchanged in their appearance for more than 200 million years. Thi...
- Earthwave Society's Sturgeon Page
Check out Earthwave Society's Sturgeon Page for info, links, videos and more great Sturgeon photos
