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Leaping sturgeon a growing threat to boaters on Suwannee (St. Petersburg Times)

**By Terry Tomalin, Times Outdoors-Fitness Editor**

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Sharon Touchton had heard about the Suwannee River’s famous jumping fish.

“I’m used to the water here on Tampa Bay,” the St. Petersburg resident said.
“So when I pictured a fish jumping, I immediately thought of mullet.”

But the gulf sturgeon is nothing like the bay’s iconic baitfish. The sturgeon,
which has been swimming the earth’s waters since the days of the dinosaurs,
can weigh several hundred pounds.

“I had no idea how big they got,” said Touchton, whose chance encounter with a
sturgeon sent her to the hospital and left her scarred for life. “I wish I
never found out.”

In March 2007, Touchton, her husband and granddaughter joined a local personal
watercraft club for a few days of fun on Florida’s iconic river.

“She was riding ahead of me when I glanced over my shoulder to see where the
other riders were,” said her husband, Nick. “When I turned back around, she
was face down in the water.”

Nick jumped in and pulled his wife from the water. The collision with the
prehistoric fish had left her unconscious. The creature’s bony plates nearly
severed four of …

St. Petersburg Times

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