Virginia Master Naturalist: Sturgeon Presentation with Dr. Matt Balazik

Location of Pocahontas State Park in Virginia

Where

Pocahontas State Park, 10301 State Park Rd., Chesterfield, VA 23832.
Swift Creek Banquet Hall

When

July 1, 2023. 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Regarded as a living fossil, the Atlantic sturgeon’s appearance has changed little since the age of dinosaurs. Commercial harvesting decimated the Atlantic sturgeon population in the late 1800s and continued threats to the Atlantic sturgeon’s recovery include boat propellers, ship strikes, by-catch in commercial fisheries, and sediment pollution that blankets spawning habitat on the bottom of the river.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Virginia Commonwealth University Rice Rivers Center, and James River Association began working together to restore a viable population of Atlantic sturgeon in Virginia’s James River in 2006.

Since 2010 three experimental spawning reefs have been constructed in the James River downriver of Richmond in an attempt to restore the population of this incredible fish. Join the Pocahontas Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist and hear Dr. Matt Balazik describe his research on sturgeon on the James.

For more information, email Rebecca.whalen@dcr.virginia.gov.

Other details

Standard parking or admission fee applies: Yes.
Extra fee: No.
Registration required: No.
Children welcome: Yes.
Phone: 804-796-4255
Email Address: Pocahontas@dcr.virginia.gov