The Hudson River Estuary Program fisheries staff reeled in a giant fish out of the Hudson River in New York last week.
The Atlantic sturgeon spreads six feet in length, weighing around 220 pounds, according to a Facebook post from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC).
It was caught near Hyde Park, about 80 miles from New York City.
Before releasing the great fish, the staff measured it, tagged the fish, took a piece of fin for genetic analysis and weighed it before releasing it back into the wild.
Pictures released by the NYS DEC show the long fish stretched all the way out while in the hands of four personnel.
Nets were used to capture the beast.
The staff suspected the unique fish to be a female that had not yet spawned.
Atlantic sturgeons are the Hudson River’s biggest fish, and New York State’s largest sturgeon species, the post said.
Amanda Higgs, a fisheries biologist with Hudson and Delaware Marine Fisheries and the Hudson River Estuary Management Program, told Fox News Digital that back in 2014, it was estimated there were around 450 individual sturgeons in the Hudson River.
“Another population assessment is underway (three-year study period) and in its second year, so it might be a few more years before an updated number is available. Preliminary data shows positive trends,” she said.
Atlantic sturgeons typically spend most of the year in the ocean, but the adults move in the Hudson during this time of year to spawn, added the NYS DEC post.
The sturgeon was captured under a National Marine Fisheries Service endangered species research permit.
Atlantic sturgeons can weigh up to 800 pounds, stretching up to 14 feet long, with five rows of bony plates that run along its body, and the tail is like a shark where one side is larger than the other, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Program staff have caught fish in the past that weighed in at 250 to 300 pounds,” Higgs said.
The annual mission to find the fish species, which began in 2006, was conducted for some weeks in May and June “and is used to track trends in the Atlantic sturgeon population,” said the NYS DEC’s post.
“The Hudson River Estuary Program helps people conserve, restore and enjoy the Hudson River and its valley. The program focuses on the tidal Hudson and adjacent watershed from the federal dam at Troy to the Verrazzano Narrows in New York City, including upper New York-New Jersey harbor,” the NYS DEC’s website says.
“The program works with many groups to develop knowledgeable and effective stewards of the estuary, using an understanding of the river’s ecology as a foundation for its work,” it adds.
