Special to Jacksonville Florida Times-Union USA TODAY NETWORK
Caviar is not something most people think about being harvested from the St Johns River. Yet, we do have sturgeon that can produce caviar present in the river. Historically, both Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon were found in the coastal rivers along the East Coast from the northern version of the St. Johns River in New Brunswick, Canada, to our southern version of the St. Johns River in Northeast Florida.
However, up until just a few years ago, sturgeons were effectively extinct in the St. Johns River. Sturgeon, once found in great abundance, had seen their populations decline greatly due to overfishing and habitat loss. Sturgeons are prized for their eggs, which are valued as high-quality caviar. Regretfully, to harvest the eggs, the animal has to be killed. That resulted in sturgeon being classified as endangered.
Some good news is that we are seeing some shortnose sturgeon being found in the area. Most recently, one was found near Reddie Point in Jacksonville not far from the Marine Science Research Institute. Florida Fish and Wildlife staff retrieved that carcass to be necropsied to determine the cause of death. A necropsy is the term used to describe the examination of an animal, while autopsy is the term used for humans.