Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Shovelnose sturgeon may receive protection

|
|
 
  
Published: Sept. 28, 2009 at 11:58 AM
Advertisement

ALTON, Ill., Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the shovelnose sturgeon should receive protection as a threatened species in certain areas because of its appearance.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said Monday shovelnose sturgeon are sometimes confused with young pallid sturgeon, which are an endangered species.

Fish and Wildlife Service officials proposed last week that due to physical similarities between the two species the shovelnose should also be federally protected in areas where the species overlap.

The federal agency's proposal is based on an Endangered Species Act section that can protect a species if its appearance is very similar to that of a protected or endangered species.

The targeted areas include the Mississippi River, starting in Alton, Ill., and going downstream, and the Missouri River from Montana to the Mississippi.

The shovelnose sturgeon is already protected from commercial fishing in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Post-Dispatch said shovelnose sturgeon are primarily caught for their eggs, which are used for caviar.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Oscar nominations 2012 High Fashion in Paris 2011: The year in space
Additional Science News Stories
1 of 15
Rose McGowan at The Heart Truth's Red Dress Fall 2012 Collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week In New York
View Caption
fark
You put a guy named Skeeter in charge of your charitable fund, of COURSE he's going to blow your...
Subby, for one, welcomes our new Pennsylvania Purple Squirrel overlords (with purple-pic)
The toughest place to be a train driver
"Can a man be 'slut-shamed?'" Well...yeah
Problem: You have a city full of people who have no ability whatsoever to parallel park. Solution:...
38KKK air bags keep woman safe in car crash