Dunton et al.: Abundance and distribution of Acipenser oxyrinchus within the Northwest Atlantic Ocean 
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Table 4 
Median and 95% confidence intervals for available and occupied habitat of Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser' oxyrinchus ) for depth, 
temperature, and salinity for the fall and spring National Marine Fisheries Service bottom trawl survey (NMFS), New Jersey 
Department of Environmental Protection finfish survey (NJDEP), and New York bottom trawl survey (NYBTS) where “available 
habitat” represents all habitat sampled and “occupied habitat” represents habitat where Atlantic sturgeon were captured. 
Season Parameter Survey 
Median 
95% confidence interval 
Fall Depth (m) NMFS available habitat 
76.0 
15.5-260.5 
NMFS occupied habitat 
18.0 
10.0-25.0 
NJDEP available habitat 
19.0 
8.0-27.0 
NJDEP occupied habitat 
16.0 
7.0-22.0 
NYBTS available habitat 
23.8 
9.5-30.3 
NYBTS occupied habitat 
10.7 
9.0-17.0 
Temperature (°C) NMFS available habitat 
10.6 
5.9-22.5 
NMFS occupied habitat 
18.9 
13.3-23.3 
NJDEP available habitat 
15.8 
12.3-18.6 
NJDEP occupied habitat 
14.8 
13.3-17.6 
NYBTS available habitat 
15.3 
13.5-19.3 
NYBTS occupied habitat 
16.8 
13.6-19.9 
Salinity (ppt) NMFS available habitat 
33.1 
31.0-35.4 
NMFS occupied habitat 
31.6 
29.3-32.0 
NJDEP available habitat 
32.0 
29.6-33.5 
NJDEP occupied habitat 
31.5 
29.5-33.1 
NYBTS available habitat 
31.4 
30.1-32.9 
NYBTS occupied habitat 
31.3 
29.4-31.8 
Spring Depth (m) NMFS available habitat 
76.0 
16.0-259.0 
NMFS occupied habitat 
18.0 
8.0-27.0 
NJDEP available habitat 
19.0 
7.5-27.0 
NJDEP occupied habitat 
12.0 
7.0-18.0 
NYBTS available habitat 
22.4 
9.9-29.7 
NYBTS occupied habitat 
9.9 
9.9-13.9 
Temperature (°C) NMFS available habitat 
6.0 
3.4-12.5 
NMFS occupied habitat 
6.4 
3.2-15.0 
NJDEP available habitat 
9.1 
4.9-18.8 
NJDEP occupied habitat 
11.0 
5.7-19.0 
NYBTS available habitat 
9.4 
5.1-14.6 
NYBTS occupied habitat 
11.1 
5.7-13.9 
Salinity (ppt) NMFS available habitat 
33.2 
31.4-35.4 
NMFS occupied habitat 
32.0 
27.0-32.8 
NJDEP available habitat 
32.0 
30.0-34.0 
NJDEP occupied habitat 
30.0 
28.8-35.0 
NYBTS available habitat 
31.6 
30.2-33.1 
NYBTS occupied habitat 
30.9 
29.9-32.3 
Although the NMFS survey covered the entire conti- 
nental shelf, no fish were captured deeper than 30 m. 
However, Atlantic sturgeon of unknown size have been 
captured in deeper waters (>100 m) on the continental 
shelf as bycatch in gillnet fisheries (Stein et al. 2004b; 
ASMFC 6 ). Additionally, there have only been two re- 
corded trawl captures of an Atlantic sturgeon in deep 
waters; one mature Atlantic sturgeon (225 cm) was cap- 
tured in the Hudson canyon in water 110 m deep off NY 
and NJ and another was captured in Wilmington Can- 
yon, 113 km southeast of Atlantic City, NJ (Timoshkin, 
1968). The lack of trawl-caught fish on the continental 
shelf may be a result of either a gap in timing of the 
sampling and Atlantic sturgeon migrations on or off 
the shelf, a function of gear selectivity towards smaller 
6 ASMFC (Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission). 2007. 
Estimation of Atlantic sturgeon bycatch in coastal Atlantic 
commercial fisheries of New England and the Mid-Atlantic, 
95 p. ASMFC, Washington D.C. 
