Georgia is home to several unique endangered aquatic species. The North Atlantic right whale, the Georgia pigtoe, and the shortnose sturgeon all live in and around the Peach State. Various environmental and human factors have led to each species’ decline, and each has been listed as officially endangered by state and federal legislation. Numerous Georgia-based nonprofits are working with federal agencies to help increase the species’ populations.
In 1973, the State of Georgia passed the Endangered Wildlife Act to protect certain animals and the Wildflower Preservation Act to protect certain plants. The state’s Protected Species List includes 111 animals and 103 plants, many of which also appear on the federal Endangered Species List.
In Georgia, the state’s Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resource Division is the key playmaker in conserving, enhancing, and promoting the area’s protected animals, fish, and plants. It also maintains records and databases that allow conservationists and scientists to track the protected species.
North Atlantic Right Whale
The largest mammal in the state, the North Atlantic right whale, is a protected species. Each winter, the mammals make a journey from New England and Canada to give birth off the coast of Georgia.
The North Atlantic right whale, named the state’s official marine mammal, is the most endangered large whale on the planet. Up to 50 feet long and weighing more than 40 tons, the whales suffer from entanglements with fishing lines and collisions with ships.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has estimated that more than 85% of all North Atlantic right whales have been entangled in fishing gear at least once. As of October 2023, NOAA estimates a little more than 350 left in the wild, and birth rates have fallen by 50%, likely due to rising seawater temperatures.
Listed as endangered in 1970, right whales were and are protected from disturbance and injury by several laws: the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and the Georgia Endangered Wildlife Act of 1973. In Georgia, the Department of Natural Resources works with NOAA Fisheries and other partners, such as the Southeast Implementation Team for Right Whale Recovery and the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team.
Photo Courtesy NOAA Fisheries
“The right whale graveyard off our Eastern Seaboard continues to grow,” Kathleen Collins, a senior marine campaign manager for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, told The New York Times. “We know human-related activity is the main threat to the survival of this species.”
Georgia Pigtoe
Also making its home in the water, the Georgia pigtoe is a rare freshwater mussel found only in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. In 2010, due to the impoundment of riverine habitats, it was listed as an endangered species.
This species is vital to the ecosystem, filtering impurities from river water and making it cleaner and safer as a drinking water supply. The pigtoe also makes the water healthier for all aquatic wildlife, which is critical to not only the state’s fishing industry but recreation as well.
Photo Courtesy Brittany Barker-Jones/USFWS
Shortnose Sturgeon
Habitat degradation, dams, water pollution, and dredging have had a huge negative impact on the shortnose sturgeon. Federally listed as endangered in 1967, the large and elusive prehistoric species — they’ve been around 200 million years — leaves the Atlantic Ocean to mature in Georgia and South Carolina rivers, especially the Savannah River. Their very short lifespan is related to how far north they travel.
In 1998, NOAA Fisheries approved a recovery plan for the sturgeon, who are unlikely to travel around dams naturally. Other groups are also pitching in. Savannah Riverkeeper, a nonprofit advocacy organization working to improve the Savannah River, has been running an education campaign to teach people about the fish.
“Sturgeon are extremely problematic in enticing them to get around man-made structures,” Gordon Rogers, Georgia Department of Natural Resources biologist, told Savannah Morning News. “It’s not something they do.”
Photo Courtesy NOAA
Each of these species is critical to the Georgia ecosystem. The continued partnership between state and federal governments and local nonprofits remains a lifeline to the survival of the right whale, pigtoe, and shortnose sturgeon.
