Scientists Lose Contact With Lone Alabama Sturgeon

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - Fish researchers have lost contact with the
lone known Alabama sturgeon.
Scientists implanted an electronic tracking device in one of the
fish after they captured an Alabama sturgeon on the lower Alabama
River in April 2007. They hoped the sturgeon would lead them to
other members of the species.
But that didn't happen, and the transmitter has now stopped
working.
Bill Pearson, a field supervisor with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service, said it was inevitable that researchers would lose track
of the fish. He said they did gather data for two years before the
fish was lost.
The government has designated 326 miles of Alabama waterway as
critical habitat for the sturgeon.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)