One Alabama Sturgeon Settles Extinct Question

Federal biologists have captured an Alabama sturgeon for the first time since 1985, apparently settling one major issue--whether it is extinct--in the controversy over whether the fish should be declared an endangered species.

James Stewart, a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, said the fish was caught Thursday morning in the lower Alabama River.

An Alabama business coalition opposed to listing the fish as endangered had questioned whether the fish still existed. The coalition contends that listing the sturgeon as endangered could halt dredging of rivers in southern Alabama and cost the state’s economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs over the next decade.