Upper West Side Sturgeon, not at Barney Greengrass, It’s in the Hudson!

Riding down Riverside with Manfrank, Marsky and Sanderson on a lovely sunny day.

While locking up our bikes near the Pier i Cafe on 72nd (I just learned this place had a name). Some tourists were exclaiming about the stench of the Hudson, or so I thought.

As a I peered over the boardwalk’s steel railing that divides the human and the marine I noticed that what stunk was not only the Hudson, but an enormous fish. Some claimed it was a barracuda, though the short nose and seemingly bottom feeding mouth made me think otherwise.

sturgeon cropped

Mankfrank, an accomplished fisherman in his own right, subsequently identified the fish as a sturgeon (shortnose? atlantic perhaps?). Who knew the Hudson was still home to this caliber of fish?

In fact the sturgeon is the Hudson River Estuary’s logo, though I’d never seen one outside this blue and white image posted on the highways and byways running along its shore.

hudson estuary sturgeon

And though it was dead after all, seeing evidence of large life in the Hudson could be a heartening sign of the river’s health.

6 thoughts on “Upper West Side Sturgeon, not at Barney Greengrass, It’s in the Hudson!

    1. Hello Kathy,

      I checked out the reporting site and here are my responses to the bulleted points:

      Specify the location of fish carcass:
      It was floating in the Hudson off of the the 72nd street pier in Manhattan.

      Note the condition of the fish – really rotted or fresh kill:
      The fish was rotted enough that it smelled unpleasant – but still very much intact. I would say in the medium rotted range?

      Identify any signs of trauma, and if present, where on the fish:
      It looked as though there was a gash down the fish’s belly and some strands of flesh were fraying like threads of a torn garment.

      Estimate the total length of the carcass (measure from nose to tip of upper tail [caudal] fin) or whatever is left of the carcass:
      The fish was approximately 6 ft in length.

      Describe any external tags found on the fish – usually a yellow streamer at or near the base of the dorsal fin; a second external mark can be a missing left pelvic fin clip:
      I couldn’t see any tags

      Take a picture of the entire fish and any injury; include a picture of the head and mouth to verify the species:
      The only picture I have is posted here.

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