Save the bay’s Atlantic Sturgeon

Most Marylanders probably aren’t aware of the Chesapeake Bay’s Atlantic Sturgeon. They are a subset of an ancient species with roots hundreds of millions of year ago in the Early Jurassic period. With smooth skin and bony plates, sturgeon look a bit like sharks and live in the ocean, growing up to 16 feet long, but spawn in fresh water each spring. They have long been prized by fishermen for their eggs (beluga caviar comes from a variety of sturgeon found in Europe) and smoked sturgeon is a delicacy also prized by gourmets.