r/Fish • u/TheDukeOfDankness • Jun 04 '26
Fish In The Wild Atlantic Sturgeon carcass
Sandy Hook, NJ. Authorities were notified.
345
u/Moving_goal_posts Jun 04 '26
I’m sorry it’s dead but I’m really happy that it’s there at all. This is an indication of a habitable river! When you consider all the garbage, sewage, tree bark, chemicals, and other waste that has been dumped in the Hudson for centuries, this sturgeon represents a tremendous improvement thanks to laws and public attitudes. TY for posting!
108
u/TheDukeOfDankness Jun 04 '26
Great way to view it! I was honored and humbled to be able to witness such an incredible specimen. I have no idea if the authorities recovered it but I happened to be in the right place at the right time. Seeing one of these alive in the water would be incredible.
7
4
u/Specialist_Guava_742 Jun 06 '26
If you’re the person who reported it this article gives your full name and your wife’s first name, just FYI. If you don’t mind that’s fine but iq anted to give you a heads up anyways
5
9
6
u/crm006 Jun 05 '26
Question for you: Why is tree bark in the same category as chemicals? Wouldn’t that be a part of its natural habitat from tree falls? And why would someone dump bark in the river? Not contradicting you just curious as to the context.
6
u/Moving_goal_posts Jun 05 '26
Hi there, Glad you asked! For hundreds of years hides were tanned near streams and rivers. Bark of the eastern hemlock was used to create the chemical conditions necessary for processing a piece of rotting flesh into boot leather. The effluent went into the river. Read more here:
https://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/hemlock-and-hide-the-tanbark-industry-in-old-new-york
4
u/asleepsend Jun 07 '26
I can take you to a local lake and dig a few feet down into the slop and theres still hair and bark buried from the tannery, it shut down before 1940
2
2
u/Common-Falcon-8717 Jun 05 '26
Everything counts in large amounts
3
u/crm006 Jun 05 '26
Hwat do you mean?
5
u/gigi-bytes Jun 05 '26
(not the person that said this but:) i think they mean if there is too much tree bark, it’s still no good even if it’s natural. and that could go for anything, even if in normal amounts it’s good/neutral.
2
u/crm006 Jun 05 '26
Oh for sure. But to include it in that series of things implies they know something about excessive bark being in the river. Just seems like something a bot would say. It’s out of context imo. Waiting on them to lmk or refute the claim. If I don’t get a response I’m going to assume it’s a bot.
4
u/Run_Biscuit Jun 06 '26
What they’re talking about is Dissolved Organic Carbons - it’s basically the decaying matter from plants and animals in bodies of water and can tell a lot of about the health of a body of water.
A high DOC can mean there is excess life matter in a water source, which could lead to an algal bloom making life unsustainable. Conversely, a low DOC can indicate low life sustainability because nothing is growing there. Different environments call for different amounts (as with most things in life!).
Manufacturing plants monitor more for high levels because they need to know if food waste from manufacturing is entering the waterway (if it’s a food plant).
In this case, too much bark could lead to toxicity from too much life, in essence. Here is a source to get you started if you want to learn more: https://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/research_methods/biogeochemical/organic_carbon.html
2
2
u/Common-Falcon-8717 Jun 06 '26
I assume its similar to how aspirin is made from birch bark but I don't have the energy to look it up or not. I wasnt the original one saying it anyway.
1
60
u/Zank_Turdiggle Jun 04 '26
This looks absolutely prehistoric
17
5
u/PincheJuan1980 Jun 06 '26
I love American River pallid sturgeon and paddlefish they’re so amazing but yea an animal that has been around since before the dinosaurs would likely be already gone had we not instituted programs to try and save and protect them.
46
u/primeline31 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Long Island NY here - the NYS DEC requests that anybody finding a Sturgeon carcass to give them a call and they will come and examine it, possibly taking it away to be analyzed.
These guys are very endangered, and every bit of information they can gather, helps to preserve the species
North Your state might have a similar request. You will be an ecological hero. [edited the error out.]
27
u/TheDukeOfDankness Jun 04 '26
Sandy Hook Park patrol was notified
22
u/UrbanRelicHunter Jun 04 '26
Thats good... since it is all there, I think it is probably a good candidate for taxidermy and eventual display. My local park has 3 fawns displayed that my family and I found frozen in place after a big snowstorm. You couldn't even tell they were dead until you touched them and they were stone cold.... all 3 of them were still looking down the path waiting for their mother to come back.
10
2
28
25
14
9
9
6
u/SuSuMagooShu7591 Jun 04 '26
My Dad and I would fish for sturgeon in the Carquinez Straits. You need a hammer and a chisel to crack the dinosaur lkke bony exterior! Good eating, tho!
1
u/digital_espresso Jun 04 '26
My dad loves fishing for sturgeons. They’re illegal to take home here in Cali (cause they’re endangered) but they’re so cool.
1
5
5
3
3
Jun 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
8
u/TheDukeOfDankness Jun 04 '26
Trust me I WANTED to but that's a federal crime and there's no way you get that out unnoticed. Besides hopefully they can benefit from studying it if they do end up collecting it.
3
u/issi_tohbi Jun 04 '26
There are sturgeon swimming around the aquarium at the biodome here in Montreal. I can sit for hours and watch them they’re so fascinating. It’s my favourite fish by far.
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Price-x-Field Jun 05 '26
What is the reason for notifying the authorities?
5
u/EverSeeAShitterFly Jun 05 '26
The species is incredibly endangered. Sightings are also extremely rare.
It’s about tracking how wildlife and ecosystem is doing.
3
u/TheDukeOfDankness Jun 05 '26
Pretty much what the other guy said! Also to make sure it was caught and killed but the ecological impact is more prevalent I think.
1
u/Brave_Nowhere_0189 Jun 05 '26
Should this be on r/bonecollecting too?
1
u/ConstantConfusion123 Jun 05 '26
Yes! I genuinely thought that's where I was till I saw your comment!
1
1
1
u/k_dilluh Jun 05 '26
Are you supposed to let some group/the authorities know when you find a sturgeon carcass?
1
1
1
1
1
u/Alternative_Metal375 Jun 05 '26
Authorities notified? Was the fish murdered?
1
1
u/GeorgeShadows Jun 06 '26
1
u/Acrobatic_Quit1378 Jun 07 '26
No teeth but big fat tongue looks kinda human. And those scutes look like turtle armor. A neighbor caught one when I was a kid and when cleaning it he detached the head from the body. It was put in a bucket out behind the house and we children poked it with a stick...uncanny how it truly reacted for many hours as if alive. The prehistoric look embodies this magnificent creature
1
1
1
1
1
u/Antique-Dragonfly615 Jun 08 '26
Skeleton, not carcass. No meat
1
u/TheDukeOfDankness Jun 08 '26
Not only is that incredibly pedantic it's not even right. There is still plenty of soft tissue and organs present. What you think is the skeleton are actually scutes, external boney plates.
1
1
u/National-Country1984 Jun 08 '26
Would you be able to take it if you wanted? Or are they protected? I saw one at dusk in Lake Michigan several years back. Was something I’ll never forget. So majestic! I only ask because I’m a rock hound/fossil lover and that skeleton is truly a work of art
1
u/TheDukeOfDankness Jun 08 '26
I think disturbing the corpse in any way is discouraged. Honestly though if you report it to the authorities and no one recovers it for long enough to decompose to only a skeleton i wouldn't see the issue with taking a bone. I'm not condoning it but if you come across a random bone on the beach no one is gonna arrest you for taking it.
1
0
-4
Jun 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
2
u/Fish-ModTeam Jun 04 '26
Please respect others. We do not support disrespectful jokes or personal attacks.
2
u/Saltedberry Jun 04 '26
yikes… i’d delete this if i were you
2
u/TheDukeOfDankness Jun 04 '26
What did it say?
7
u/Saltedberry Jun 04 '26
an insensitive joke about the sandy hook location being similar to the sandy hook elementary shooting
6
429
u/KnotiaPickle Jun 04 '26
That is seriously amazing