Beachcombers came across an unpleasant sight on the pebbled shoreline at Bailie Beach in Mattituck on Tuesday — a seven-foot Atlantic sturgeon that had washed ashore.

The dead fish, an endangered species whose ancestors date back to the age of dinosaurs, was spotted by John Moss, who quickly called the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

“The Division of Marine Resources staff of the DEC retrieved the animal and conducted a necropsy (an animal autopsy) to try to determine the cause of death and collect samples which will be shared with researchers working on age and genetics,” the DEC said. “The cause of death was not determined.”

The sturgeon had no visible cuts, gashes or other marks on its body. Its back was rough and rigid, while its underside was soft.

It is unclear how long the sturgeon had been on the beach before it was discovered.

Sturgeon are best known for producing caviar, the prized fish eggs long associated with their Caspian Sea cousins — including beluga, osetra and sevruga sturgeon.

Atlantic sturgeon were once harvested heavily for their roe as well, and NOAA Fisheries says that overfishing for high-quality caviar helped drive steep population declines in the late 1800s.

The fish thrived in rivers from Canada to Florida, including the Hudson River. Today, most Atlantic sturgeon populations in U.S. waters are federally listed as endangered.

Often described as “living fossils,” Atlantic sturgeon belong to a lineage that dates back more than 100 million years. The fish can grow to more than 14 feet long and weigh hundreds of pounds, making them among the largest fish found along the Atlantic coast.

“It is not uncommon to see an Atlantic Sturgeon off the coast of Long Island. You will also find them in river systems, like the Hudson River Estuary, at this time of year to spawn,” the DEC said. “Spawning is actively taking place now in freshwater portions of the estuary. Unfortunately, some will not complete the spawning migration; adult sturgeon do not spawn every year.”

To report dead sturgeon, use the DEC’s Marine Life Incident Report online survey or contact the Hudson and Delaware Fisheries Unit at 845-256-3073 or hudsonriverfish@dec.ny.gov.

More information about Atlantic sturgeon is available on the DEC website.

The post Endangered Atlantic sturgeon found dead at Bailie Beach appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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