VCU researchers have tagged 2,455 Atlantic sturgeon in the James

A long-running James River study has now tagged 2,455 Atlantic sturgeon. The fish remain endangered.

Verified · Source: WSLSOct 7, 2026 · 1 min read

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A juvenile Atlantic sturgeon held in a gloved hand above a tank — Illustrative photo of a juvenile Atlantic sturgeon at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hatchery. This is not a fish tagged on the James River. Gena Lyons/USFWS / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

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WSLS reported on October 7, 2026, that VCU researcher Matt Balazik is still tagging endangered Atlantic sturgeon on the James River at Osborne. He told the station there are more fish around than people thought in the late 1990s, when the James and Chesapeake population was described as functionally extirpated. The project’s PIT-tag count has just reached 2,455. Some fish are recaptured as long as 20 years apart. Spring and fall spawners are genetically different.

The work dates to 2007 and has been standardized at Osborne since about 2016 or 2017. The largest sturgeon he has measured was 9 feet 10 inches. Historical records describe fish over 14 feet. The species was listed as endangered in 2012 and still faces poor water quality, dams, and boat strikes. A higher tag count is not the same thing as a recovery.