Scientists have caught nearly a dozen endangered Shortnose sturgeon in a US river in the first confirmed sighting of the species in the area since 1978.
Shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum, have not been officially confirmed from the Penobscot River for nearly 30 years, but this week scientists from the University of Maine caught 11 of them in gill nets.
Professor Michael Kinnison of the University of Maine told CBS News that the discovery of the sturgeon suggests that the species may be recovering from habitat loss and poor water conditions which saw it decline.
"One or two fish could represent strays from another river system, but the numbers we are now encountering bode well for a remnant Shortnose population that spawns somewhere in the Penobscot", Kinnison told CBS.
All of the fish were implanted with radio transmitters to allow their movements to be monitored before being released back into the river.
The Shortnose sturgeon is one of the smallest species reaching just under 1m/39" in length and is restricted to the Atlantic coastal rivers of North America.
The species is listed on the US Endangered Species Act and it is now illegal to kill or possess the fish.