200-pound endangered Atlantic sturgeon caught in Hudson River

HUDSON RIVER (WABC) -- A 200-pound fish was caught in the Hudson River last week, according to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.

Last week, during an Atlantic sturgeon survey, Hudson River Estuary Program fisheries staff captured a fish over 6 feet long and weighed about 220 pounds.

NYSDEC said the fish was suspected to be a female that had not yet spawned.

Atlantic sturgeon are an endangered, anadromous fish species that spend most of the year in the ocean, but the adults move in the Hudson River to spawn during this time of year.

While in the ocean, they migrate from Florida to Maine.

They are the Hudson River's biggest fish, and New York State's largest sturgeon species, according to NYSDEC.

New York has three species-the Atlantic sturgeon, shortnose sturgeon, and lake sturgeon, according to NYSDEC.

The fish was captured under a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) endangered species research permit, #20340.

This annual survey, which started in 2006, is conducted over several weeks in May and June and is used to track trends in the Atlantic sturgeon population.

Staff used nets to capture the fish, measure it, scan it for a tag, take a piece of fin for genetic analysis, and weigh it before releasing it back into the wild.