Thursday July 23, 2026
San Francisco Baykeeper —
After a twenty-month delay, and in response to a court order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has determined that San Francisco Bay’s White Sturgeon warrant protection as a listed species under the federal Endangered Species Act. The agency based its decision on extensive evidence of the precipitous decline of White Sturgeon populations in the San Francisco Bay estuary, as initially documented by San Francisco Baykeeper, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, and Restore the Delta. In its determination, the Service cites altered freshwater flows, harmful algae blooms, and habitat degradation as factors in this decline.
However, in spite of its finding that the species meets all the criteria for listing as an endangered species, the Service has declined to add White Sturgeon to the official endangered species list. As justification, the agency reports only that the listing is precluded by unspecified “higher priority listing actions.”
White Sturgeon are North America’s largest freshwater fish and one of its most ancient species. They require high river flows to reproduce successfully—something they have struggled to do as a result of massive water diversions from the Central Valley rivers that flow to the Delta and Bay.