More fish have been afforded U.S. Endangered Species Act protection than any other group of animals, and none have been designated as recovered. Shortnose sturgeon occupy large rivers and estuaries along the Atlantic coast of North America and the species has been protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act since its enactment in 1973. New study findings show that this species meets the criteria for recovery in the Hudson River and can be removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List.

Scientists and legislators have called for changes in the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the Act is being debated in the U.S. Congress, and the Act has been characterized as failing to recover species.

New data on the shortnose sturgeon in the Hudson River (New York to Albany, NY) showed a population of about 60,000 fish. The Hudson River population has increased by more than 400 percent since the 1970s and appears healthy The Hudson River shortnose sturgeon population exceeds government and scientific recovery criteria by more than 500 percent and key habitats have remained intact despite heavy human river use.

Recovery of the Hudson River population of shortnose sturgeon suggests the combination of species and habitat protection with patience can yield successful species recovery even near one of the World's largest human population centers.

Hudson RIver Foundation

• Nancy Haley (National Marine Fisheries Service)
• Douglas L. Peterson (Cornell University)
• Kristin K. Arend (Cornell University)
• Kathy E. Mills (Cornell University)
• Patrick J. Sullivan (Cornell University)