Monster 220-pound fish caught in Hudson River
This catch is un-reel!
A monster 200-pound Atlantic sturgeon was netted in the Hudson River near the Big Apple by conservationists in a “scale”-tipping triumph.
Staffers from the Hudson River Estuary Program snagged the 6-foot fish last week with a net near Hyde Park, about 85 miles north of New York City.
The anglers scanned the critically endangered fish for tags before tossing it back into the water, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said in a Facebook post.
The giant slippery sucker was a female that had likely not yet spawned — adding to its scale-tipping size, the agency said.
The critter was captured with an endangered species research permit that allows the group to track the species’ population growth.
Atlantic Sturgeon “spend most of the year in the ocean” before swimming to the “Hudson during this time of year to spawn,” the Facebook post states.
They can grow up to 800 pounds and 14 feet long, and are the largest fish in the Hudson River.
Researchers estimated there were around 450 individual sturgeons in the Hudson River in 2014 — but that number has likely increased, experts said.
Fisheries biologist Amanda Higgs told Fox News Digital that a more updated number is in the works.
“Another population assessment is underway…Preliminary data shows positive trends,” said Higgs, of the Hudson River Estuary Management Program.
“Program staff have caught fish in the past that weighed in at 250 to 300 pounds,” she said.
The fish have five rows of bony plates running along their bodies and have tails like sharks, with one side bigger than the other.
They are listed as critically endangered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Hudson River Estuary Program “helps people conserve, restore, and enjoy the Hudson River and its valley,” according to its website.
“The program works with many groups to develop knowledgeable and effective stewards of the estuary, using an understanding of the river’s ecology as a foundation for its work.”
Reps from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation didn’t return questions from The Post Friday.
