WEEHAWKEN — Like a sturgeon. Washing up in Weehawken for the very first time. Like a stur-ur-ur-urgeoooon.
Last week, the Reporter newspaper chain got a call from a gentleman who said that a “prehistoric fish” had washed up in the Lincoln Harbor section of Weehawken. Lincoln Harbor is an area on the Hudson River with shops, restaurants, a luxury development, and a hotel. We asked the caller if the fish was being removed, or if any professionals had come to see it, but he said that as far as he knew, no one was doing much about it.
We had to check it out ourselves. It was still there on Friday: an unusual looking sea creature lying along the rocks near the Riva Pointe pier development. Two passers-by were taking photographs.
While we couldn’t find anyone who to tell us whether it was really prehistoric, we were able to conclusively determine one thing about it: It really, really, really, really, really smelled.
Monday morning, we called Mayor Richard Turner, who hadn’t heard about the stinky situation.
Being the hands-on mayor that he is, he said he would check it out. He returned our call within the hour.
“It’s a five-foot sturgeon, and it’s not prehistoric,” he said. “They pushed it out to the edge of the rocks hoping it would go out to sea, but it washed back up.”
When asked who is responsible for it, he said, “God.”
He added, “It’s a rock embankment and it’s slippery. The’re going down there to see what they can do. They’re probably going to push it out again. The embankment is all rock. It’s not level. It’s not easy to get out there.”
Incidentally, sturgeons are “prehistoric-looking creatures that have been around since before the dinosaurs,” according to the New York State Department of Environmental Protection. The types of sturgeons found in the Hudson River are protected and one variety is considered endangered.
So there you have it — this odiferous issue may soon be taken care of. Off-fish-ially.
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