FWC issues sturgeon warning for area rivers

Posted on June 20, 2014

Boaters on several North Florida rivers now through the end of summer are urged to go slow and be ready to react, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The reason is a growing Gulf sturgeon population and their habit of leaping out of the water at the most inopportune times.

About a year ago, June 22, to be exact, an 8-year-old Youngstown boy was seriously injured in the family fishing boat when a leaping sturgeon struck him in the head. The boy spent almost two weeks in a Pensacola hospital.

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