It was nearly 20 years ago now that University of Maine researchers documented the presence of both shortnose sturgeon and Atlantic sturgeon in the Penobscot River. The large, heavy, bottom-dwelling fish were known to Wabanaki ancestors and were once a target of commercial fishermen for meat and caviar, a pursuit that along with water pollution in rivers nearly drove them to extinction. Shortnose sturgeon was among the first animals on the Endangered Species List, alongside the grizzly bear, California condor, and the American alligator.
After a fisherman accidentally hooked a sturgeon in the Penobscot, bringing the prehistoric creature up from the deep and back into the collective memory, biologists began to search for more.
And they’re still searching. Read more in The Working Waterfront.
Catherine Schmitt 