612 
Fishery Bulletin 96(3), 1 998 
can be increased by deliberately releasing artificially 
produced progeny (parentage from an outside popu- 
lation like the Hudson River population), by impos- 
ing a moratorium on sturgeon harvests, and by mak- 
ing efforts to reduce sturgeon taken as bycatch in 
other fisheries. 
A critical and unresolved question is whether habi- 
tat quality remains sufficient at present in the Chesa- 
peake Bay to support Atlantic sturgeon growth, sur- 
vival, and reproduction. An encouraging finding has 
been a trend in improved water quality and 
macrobenthic production in Chesapeake Bay tribu- 
tary nursery habitats, the apparent result of nutri- 
ent abatement programs (Dauer, 1995). 
Acknowledgments 
This research was supported by Maryland Depart- 
ment of Natural Resources Chesapeake Bay Research 
and Monitoring Division through funds made avail- 
able by the National Marine Fisheries Service 
(Anadromous Fish and Great Lakes Conservation 
Act). We are especially grateful to Mike Hendrix and 
Jerre Mohler at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Northeast Fishery Center, Lamar PA) for their as- 
sistance in providing hatchery-produced young-of-year 
Atlantic sturgeon used in our experiments. Jill 
Stevenson and Erik Zlokovitz (Chesapeake Biological 
Laboratory) provided assistance in the laboratory. We 
thank Ed Houde, Ron Klauda, and Paul Miller for their 
comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Letty 
Fernandez assisted with preparation of this report. 
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