HAVERHILL — First it was Hannah Duston — from her legendary hatchet that has survived since Colonial times to the bobble-head doll that is sold as a souvenir. Then came the 5-foot-tall shoe statues, a reminder of Haverhill's heritage as a shoe-making giant in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Now comes the shortnose sturgeon — a reclusive, armor-plated fish dating back to prehistoric times that lurks in the dark water of the Merrimack River, where it passes through the center of the city.
As Haverhill tries to develop a new identity and strives to become a tourist attraction, it is embracing its heritage and natural resources as selling points, from Hannah Duston to Haverhill's international reputation as "Queen Slipper City,'' a top maker of women's shoes.
Sturgeon, the rare, olive-colored fish that comes up river from the ocean to spawn in Haverhill, is now vying for attention.
In recent times, the appearance in Haverhill of the large fish and the eggs it lays in the shallow and rocky waters off downtown has been seen mostly as a problem.
Its status as an endangered species protected by the federal government has caused delays in the construction of the new Comeau Bridge a few years ago, plans to dredge parts of the river off downtown, and most recently a project aimed at restoring a riverbank along Riverside Avenue that was severely damaged by flooding.
However, some believe the odd fish should be celebrated. And now is the perfect time to do it with the annual celebration of Earth Day this month coinciding with the sturgeon's annual return to the city to spawn, said Alice Mann, a resident of the city's Bradford section and co-chairwoman of Team Haverhill.
Mann wants the city to consider featuring the sturgeon along a recreational trail being planned for an old railroad bed on the Bradford side of the river. Signs displaying pictures of the fish and facts about it could highlight the trail, perhaps encouraging visitors to keep an eye out for one of the them leaping in the Merrimack River, Mann said.
"Eco-friendly recreation could be highlighted (along the trail) by offering convenient public launch areas for low-impact vessels like canoes, kayaks and racing shells. Maybe even a fleet of whimsical 'sturgeon boats' pedaling down from bridge to bridge," Mann said in a opinion piece published in The Eagle-Tribune last week.
Mann also suggests expanding the city's annual Kidsfest in May to a weekend festival with an emphasis on ecology, appreciation of the river, and to celebrate Haverhill as "a good place to come home to."
Brent Baeslack, co-chairman of the Haverhill Environmental League and conservation agent for Rowley, agrees it's a great idea to celebrate the shortnose sturgeon rather than talking about how the fish are a barrier to development.
"Maybe we should be thinking about development that highlights this species, such as the rail trail or by building canoe and kayak launches in other parts of the city," said Baeslack, a Haverhill resident. "I've never outgrown my fascination with dinosaurs or prehistoric species, and the fact we have a species in Haverhill that was around when dinosaurs roamed the planet is amazing and worth celebrating."
Baeslack likened the appearance of the rare fish here to the return of the bald eagle to the Merrimack River a few years ago.
"Although, clearly, the sturgeon isn't as photographically available as the bald eagle, or as photogenic for that matter," Baeslack said, adding that he's never seen one of the fish in the river. "But it's mysterious and it conjures up the imagination," he said.
Of 10 identified populations of shortnose sturgeon inhabiting rivers on the East Coast, Haverhill's population is considered "the smallest yet identified, with spawning adults in the tens, not hundreds," said a report by scientists who have studied the river.
"Any changes to that habitat, even while the fish are not spawning, could prove fatal to the sturgeon's survival," according to a report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which recently studied the shortnose sturgeon's haunts around the Comeau and Basiliere bridges in response to a request from the city to dredge those sections of the river.
Tapping the river as a business and tourist attraction is a key element of plans to revitalize downtown by city officials and other city groups, such as Team Haverhill.
Just this month the city broke ground on a downtown boardwalk on the opposite side of the river as the planned rail trail on the Bradford side.
The city's long-term plan is to extend the boardwalk along the entire length of downtown and eventually link it to the proposed rail trail on the Bradford side of the river, creating a loop.
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About the sturgeon
Fossils reveal that modern forms of sturgeon date back at least 100 million years, while earlier forms developed alongside the first dinosaurs.
The sturgeon family has survived dramatic climate changes, meteor strikes and the extinction of many living organisms.
But despite all that history, the shortnose sturgeon is in trouble. When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service placed this creature on its original endangered species list in 1967, pollution and overfishing were cited as the chief reasons for its decline. Principal threats to the fish include habitat degradation or loss from dams, bridge construction, channel dredging and pollution, and from being accidentally killed by fishermen or dredging operations.
About the shortnose sturgeon
Averages 3.5 feet in length but can reach 6 feet, and weighs about 6 pounds.
Estimated that 20 to 100 of the fish are in the Merrimack River between Newburyport and Haverhill.
Has shark-like tail and four whisker-like barbels by the mouth that are used to find prey.
Declared endangered by the federal government.
Bottom-feeders that eat worms, crustaceans and mollusks. Are known to migrate to the water's surface.
SOURCE: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service
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