Overfished in the Chesapeake region almost to the point of collapse in the 1800s, Atlantic sturgeon have been slowly returning to the Bay watershed over the last decade. But in the James River, where researchers have identified and tagged more than 700 adults, juveniles have largely been absent — until now. As of mid-November of this year, researchers have pulled in 153 young sturgeon, a staggering increase over 2017’s total of two.
I last wrote about the James River’s juvenile sturgeon population for the Progress-Index in December 2016. Today, my story for Chesapeake Bay Journal is out, with much more positive news.