Fisheries staff from the Hudson River Estuary Program caught a massive fish in New York’s Hudson River last week.
According to a Facebook post from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), the Atlantic sturgeon was six feet long and weighed approximately 220 pounds.
The fish was caught near Hyde Park, about 80 miles from New York City.
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Before releasing the larger fish, staff measured them, tagged them, took a portion of their fin for genetic analysis, and weighed them before releasing them back into the wild.
An Atlantic sturgeon weighing approximately 220 pounds and measuring six feet in length was caught near Hyde Park in New York City, New York. (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation)
Photos released by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation show four workers holding the long fish in their arms as a net is used to capture the monster.
Staff suspected the unusual fish was a female that had not yet spawned.
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According to the post, the Atlantic sturgeon is the largest fish in the Hudson River and the largest sturgeon in New York State.
Atlantic sturgeon normally spend most of the year in the ocean, but adults migrate to the Hudson River at this time of year to spawn, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation)
Amanda Higgs, a fisheries biologist with the Hudson-Delaware Marine Fisheries Division and the Hudson River Estuary Management Program, told Fox News Digital that in 2014, there were an estimated 450 sturgeon in the Hudson River.
“The new census (of a three-year study period) is currently underway and is in its second year, so it may be a few more years before updated figures are available. Preliminary data shows positive trends,” she said.
Atlantic sturgeon typically spend most of the year in the ocean, but adults migrate to the Hudson River at this time of year to spawn, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation post added.
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The sturgeon was taken under a National Marine Fisheries Service Endangered Species Research Permit.
The Atlantic sturgeon, which can weigh up to 800 pounds, was caught in New York’s Hudson River under a National Marine Fisheries Service Endangered Species Research Permit. (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation)
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Atlantic sturgeons can weigh up to 800 pounds and reach lengths of up to 14 feet, with five rows of bony plates along their bodies and a shark-like tail that is larger on one side than the other.
“Program staff have caught fish weighing 250 to 300 pounds in the past,” Higgs said.
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The annual survey for the fish, which began in 2006, takes place over several weeks in May and June and is “used to track trends in Atlantic sturgeon populations,” according to a post from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Amanda Higgs, a fisheries biologist with the DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program, told Fox News Digital that in 2014, there were an estimated 450 sturgeon in the Hudson River. (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation)
“The Hudson River Estuary Program helps people conserve, restore, and enjoy the Hudson River and its valley. The program focuses on the tidal Hudson River and adjacent watersheds from the Federal Dam at Troy to the Verrazano Constriction in New York City, and the upper reaches of the Port of New York-New Jersey,” the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s website states.
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“The program will collaborate with a number of organisations to develop knowledgeable and competent stewards of the estuary, basing their work on an understanding of river ecosystems,” it adds.
