Riverkeepers Join Legal Action To Stop Illegal Sturgeon Killing

HUDSON VALLEY — A respected Hudson Valley environmental organization has joined with other environmental groups to notify three states, including New York, of their intent to sue over the illegal killing of endangered Atlantic sturgeon.

On Thursday, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Hudson Riverkeeper joined to submit notices of intent to sue for the illegal killing of Atlantic sturgeon to New York, New Jersey and Delaware. According to the 60-day notices, which are required by federal law before the organizations can actually file their litigation, Atlantic sturgeon are being killed in high and unaccounted for numbers without required permitting or approval pursuant to the Endangered Species Act.

"Since the last Ice Age, Atlantic sturgeon have been spawning in the Hudson River," Hudson Riverkeeper President Tracy Brown said. "In order for these iconic and ancient fish to survive, we must protect them from being caught and killed in commercial fishing nets. Riverkeeper is committed to ensuring that New York, New Jersey, and Delaware fulfill their duty to protect the sturgeon in line with the spirit and requirements of the Endangered Species Act. Bycatch is and has been the single biggest impediment to the resurgence of the endangered Atlantic sturgeon population, and limits on bycatch are vital to their recovery."

According to the notices of intent to sue, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware have failed to apply for and obtain incidental take permits for commercial fisheries operating within the known habitat of the endangered Atlantic sturgeon, as is required by the Endangered Species Act.

The notice contends that while the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits the "take" of an endangered species, it also provides exceptions for the incidental take of protected species as a byproduct, and not as the purpose of, activities that would be considered lawful but for the take of the endangered species, as long as it has been approved through an Incidental Take Permit issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries).

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The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, however, said that New York, New Jersey, and Delaware are violating the ESA by allowing commercial fisheries to kill Atlantic sturgeon as bycatch while fishing for species such as Summer Flounder, Striped Bass, Weakfish, and Winter Skate without having applied for nor receiving that required ESA permitting.

The groups say that securing a permit not only ensures operations at issue meet the requirements of the law, but also establishes practices that can help avoid the illegal take of the fish.

Additionally, the operation would be required to track the numbers of fish killed, which in turn can inform government decision-making regarding how to protect the endangered species.

"The Delaware River’s population of Atlantic Sturgeon is known to be the most imperiled in the world," Delaware Riverkeeper's Maya van Rossum said. "According to scientists, we have less than 250 spawning adults left. And yet, these three states and the federal government have been turning a blind eye for years as the Atlantic Sturgeon of the Delaware and other river systems are killed as bycatch. This is a shocking display of disregard for the law, the public trust, and the sacred duty of these agencies to safeguard endangered species from extinction so they can continue to benefit present and future generations."

The "taking" of Atlantic sturgeon as a result of "bycatch" has been by named governmental and scientific communities as a threat to the sturgeon's conservation. Trawl net and gill-net fisheries are often what cause the Atlantic sturgeon "take" to occur, as these styles of fishing cannot distinguish what marine life gets caught in the gear. A trawl net is a massive net that drags along the water floor catching everything in its path. A gill-net is anchored to the bottom of the ocean or riverbed, creating a wall which entraps fish by their gills as they try to swim through.

"It is well within the power and oversight of the states and NOAA Fisheries to protect the Atlantic Sturgeon from bycatch through changed and/or restricted practices," van Rossum added. "As of now, it is clear that in the time that has passed: New York, New Jersey, and Delaware have failed to take any action to prevent, reduce or even track the bycatch impacts on Atlantic Sturgeon, and their knowing neglect has put the federally endangered Atlantic Sturgeon at further risk of extinction. If the federal and state agencies will not take responsibility for enforcing the law and protecting the sturgeon, then the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and partner organizations will."