The Atlantic sturgeon has a new endangered species listing that goes into effect April 6, which has commercial fishermen in New Jersey worried. Atlantic sturgeon fisheries were banned in the 1990s, but the new listing will expand restrictions. There will be rules in place to prevent incidental take, which occurs when fishermen accidentally catch the endangered fish while trying to get a different species.

“It would be devastating for this operation here,” said General Manager of Viking Village Ernie Panacek. “Production would be limited to a great extent where these species are caught. To protect the sturgeon, our landings would diminish tremendously. You can’t just go somewhere else and catch these fish.”

While many commercial fishermen are worried, Assistant Dean of the School of Sciences at Monmouth University John Tiedemann said the new classification could help the Atlantic sturgeon recover because the government can develop programs to aid the process.

Commercial fisherman Kevin Wark said he believes the Atlantic sturgeon population has been increasing, but the National Marine Fishery Services says there is no data to support that claim.

While waiting for the new law’s restrictions to be announced, the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Council will work with fisheries to examine ways to avoid incidental take. NJToday’s Lauren Wanko files this report from Barnegat Light.

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