“If there’s one thing that’s been consistent across the coast over the last 30 years with Atlantic sturgeon, it is that the more we look, the more we find,” said Dave Kazyak, who specializes in fish genetics at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Eastern Ecological Science Center.

Those discoveries have forced biologists to reconsider what they thought they knew about sturgeon. That’s led to even more questions, many of which are critical for trying to manage and protect the species, which was listed as endangered in 2012.

They may live longer than previously thought — perhaps more than a century. Populations in some rivers spawn in the fall; in others, they spawn in the spring. In some places, like the James River, they spawn in both seasons.

Sturgeon wander among rivers more than other fish, and in some cases they seem to visit spawning grounds but not spawn. In some rivers, they spawn in deep water. In others, they spawn in tiny, shallow creeks you could skip a stone across.

Understanding those details is critical to protecting the fish...”