Agency proposes to list southern green sturgeon as threatened

SACRAMENTO - A federal agency is listing California's green sturgeon population south of the Eel River as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, after environmental groups sued to overturn an earlier finding. The National Marine Fisheries Service kept its earlier decision that the population is in no immediate danger in rivers farther north.

Looking like a fish from the age of dinosaurs, the long-lived, slow-growing fish can reach more than 7 feet long and weigh up to 350 pounds.

Like salmon, they spend part of their lives in the ocean, returning to their native rivers to spawn.

The service decided that dams in the upper Sacramento and Feather rivers blocked the sturgeons' migration _ substantially reducing the giant fish's habitat.
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On the Net:

Green Sturgeon Proposed Rule: http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/news/green_st.pdf

National Marine Fisheries Service: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov

Updated Green Sturgeon Status Review: http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/psd/Final%20Green%20Sturgeon%20Status%20Review%20Update.pdf

Environmental Protection Information Center: http://www.wildcalifornia.org

Center for Biological Diversity: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org