Environmentalists, state officials, stock sturgeon in the Hudson River near Kingston, in 2004

OSSINING – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s decision to designate the Hudson River Atlantic Sturgeon population as endangered under the Endangered Species Act is “a critical step to protect one of the Hudson River’s iconic species,” according to Phillip Musegaas, Riverkeeper’s Hudson River program director.

He said the species has suffered from overfishing, habitat destruction and power plant intakes.               

“The news that there are less than a thousand adult sturgeon in the Hudson is a mixed blessing: tragic that this magnificent species has been brought so low, but hopeful that the increased protection and attention paid to their survival will allow them to recover and repopulate the Hudson River,” Musegaas said.

Some sturgeon are also found in the Delaware River, but only a small number compared to a peak population of thousands a few decades ago.