VCU Sturgeon Research Study

There it was, gently coasting along the shallow waters of the James River just below the urban backdrop of the Richmond City skyline -- a giant prehistoric fish that had once swam with the dinosaurs. The rare sighting of an Atlantic sturgeon, one of the oldest species of fish in the world, just under the 14th Street Bridge in downtown Richmond last month generated a lot of excitement. Even more compelling during that same week was the discovery of the first fall spawning female -- there were eggs in the water everywhere. Coincidentally, folks down on the Roanoke River came across a very similar scene. No one could be happier about the find than Matt Balazik, a doctoral candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University. He made the initial discovery of the spawning female and eggs in the James. Balazik is part of a research team at the VCU Center for Environmental Studies and VCU Inger and Walter Rice Center studying the Atlantic sturgeon to learn more about its life history and biology in an effort to protect and restore it to the coastal rivers of Virginia. "We now have proof that there is fall spawning sturgeon in the James," said Greg Garman, Ph.D., who has been instrumental in leading the sturgeon restoration efforts at VCU, and director of the VCU Center for Environmental Studies. "... within the sturgeon world, this kind of news is a big deal ... It's an aspect of the biology and life history that is brand new, and one that could have big impact on the recovery plans that will have to be written," he said. http://www.news.vcu.edu/news/Saving_the_Fish_that_Saved_Jamestown