Find prompts scientific attention, supports species study
By Joanne Jordan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Guysborough Journal
SONORA: Sonora resident Shawn Morgan made a very unexpected and significant discovery while taking his routine stroll, finding a deceased Atlantic sturgeon wedged in a channel that feeds into the St. Mary’s River from his property.
In an interview, Morgan told The Journal that when he first spotted the creature in the distance, he thought it was a shark or catfish. But, as he got closer, he realized from the diamond pattern that it was a sturgeon, adding he used a mobile app “to double check.”
The fish, measuring approximately 215 centimetres long and weighing 80 kilograms, was found under a road crossing near Morgan’s property.
“I actually thought about calling DNR at the time, but I figured they would not be interested,” he said.
Not thinking much more about it, Morgan said he later showed the photo to fellow resident Ralph Burns, who “got really excited,” informing him that Atlantic sturgeon were thought to be extinct in the area.
“Finding out later that the fish was actually a huge discovery was surprising,” said Morgan.
“Maritimes population of Atlantic sturgeon was assessed as threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 2011,” explained Rachael Mahoney, communications advisor for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), in an interview with The Journal, noting a decision on whether to list the species under the Species at Risk Act has not yet been made.
She added that, in Canada, “the overall authority for sturgeon management rests with the DFO under terms of the Fisheries Act of 1867, and regulations thereto.”
The discovery of the sturgeon came as good news to St. Mary’s River Association President Scott Beaver.
“It was wonderful to see our river has Atlantic sturgeon in its waters,” he said in an interview with The Journal. “This is yet another rare species we can add to our Ecologically Significant Area case study work.”
The Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) is one of the oldest fish in existence, and is sometimes described as a “living fossil.”
With an internal skeleton composed of cartilage, a bottom-facing mouth bordered with fleshy barbels used to feed on invertebrates, and a set of bony projections known as scutes along its flanks, it’s characterized by the arrangement of the scutes, an elongated body and a slightly turned-up snout.
One of five species of sturgeon found in North America, its range spans from New Brunswick to the eastern part of Florida.
Recognizing the significance of the find, Burns contacted Beaver, and the news quickly reached researchers at StFX in Antigonish.
Beaver and Deidre Green, program director with the Atlantic Salmon Federation, helped transport the sturgeon to a meeting point with Randy Lauff, a senior laboratory instructor in biology at StFX. Working with the university for 33 years, Lauff has spent 20 years teaching vertebrate anatomy and more than 25 years curating the “respectable collection” of skeletons and other specimens. He will oversee the dissection of the sturgeon.
“When dead things come into our building, I’m the point person in dealing with the many aspects of curation,” Lauff said.
The sturgeon, which is stored in a freezer on campus, will be displayed on Saturday, May 31, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., during the World Oceans Day celebration, hosted by the StFX biology department, at the J. Bruce Brown Hall on campus. Lauff said the event draws hundreds of people each year, and will offer a rare chance to view the species up close.
Following the event, the sturgeon will be dissected in the university’s anatomy lab to gather biological data, including its sex, possible cause of death, and any parasites or remnants of its last meal.
Lauft’s colleague, senior lab instructor Kathleen Glasgow, who specializes in animal biology, said the dissection will be live streamed.
Anything not kept will be transferred to the Mi’kmaq for a ceremonial return to the sea.
During the summer, Glasgow helps manage a program called X-Oceans Outreach (founded and directed by Regina Cozzi, a fellow senior lab instructor), where they deliver ocean science to primary and secondary school students across Nova Scotia.
The sturgeon’s story and information about the findings from the dissection will be posted to the X-Oceans Facebook page.
More accurate data will be available after World Oceans Day.