PORTLAND, Maine – Federal fishing regulators are proposing to designate the waters of several Maine rivers as critical habitat for Atlantic sturgeon. The designation is also proposed for other Atlantic coast waterways further south.
The anadromous fish, which mature in estuaries and marine waters but return to rivers to spawn, are listed as a threatened species in the Gulf of Maine, and as endangered in other areas.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is proposing to protect the Atlantic sturgeon’s river habitat in Maine, including parts of the Penobscot, Androscoggin, Kennebec, and Piscataqua rivers.
