The shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) is a small North American sturgeon which can be foun in 16 to 19 large river and estuary systems along the Atlantic seaboard from the Saint John River in New Brunswick, Canada, to the St. Johns River in Florida, United States. Populations may be disjunct, evidenced by lack of records in the sea outside the influence of their home river and minimal captures of tagged individuals outside the river in which they were tagged. The maximum salinity in which the species has been found is 30-31 ppt, slightly below the salinity of sea water. It is an endangered species in the United States, having been recognized as such in 1967, and is a vulnerable species in Canada.