Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) is a saltwater, freshwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 6–53 m.
Scientific name: Acipenser brevirostrum · Water: Saltwater, Freshwater, Brackish
Size: up to 143 cm
The shortnose sturgeon is an acipenserid that lives over soft bottoms in river mouths, lakes, estuaries and bays, and occasionally enters the open sea. It is recorded from 6 to 53 m, from the St. John River in Canada south to the St. Johns River in Florida, and it feeds mostly at night on benthic crustaceans, insects and mollusks. Maximum length is about 143 cm total length, commonly about 50 cm, and it can live 67 years. It is a minor commercial species and a gamefish. Fishing vulnerability is very high at 77 of 100 and resilience very low. IUCN lists it as vulnerable, and it is on CITES Appendix I.
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