NEWBURYPORT – The body of a 3-foot-long shortnose sturgeon washed up Tuesday morning along the shoreline of Cashman Park leading many people wondering what killed it.
The fish, with a face only a mother could love, is classified as an endangered species by state and federal wildlife organizations. In Massachusetts they are only found in the Merrimack River and two sections of the Connecticut River, in the western part of the state.
A look at the dead fish shows tearing along its upper right side near its mouth leading to the possibility it had been struck by a boat.
The greatest threat the saltwater/freshwater fish is the loss of its habitat through new bridges, dams, channel dredging and pollution.
"Shortnose sturgeon are particularly vulnerable to these threats because they have a late age at which they spawn and because they undergo large movements to get to critical habitats," a Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife description of the fish reads.
Shortnose sturgeons live up to 27 years but do not reach maturity until they are between 8 and 10 years old. The fish is typically a bottom dweller using its extendable lips to vacuum up food, according to the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
A call to the state organization for more information about the fish and what may have caused its demise was not returned in time for this edition.
The Link LonkAugust 26, 2020 at 03:55PM
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Endangered fish found dead near Cashman Park - The Daily News of Newburyport
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