Florida Fish and Wildlife officials say a woman’s leg was broken by a 75 pound jumping sturgeon. Tina Fletcher was a passenger on an airboat when the incident happened last weekend. FWC spokeswoman Karen Parker says boaters should be cautious of these types of fish because of possible injury.
“What we’re trying to do though is, we’re not trying to scare anybody off the river, but we’re definitely trying to make folks aware. If you’re going to be on the Suwannee just pay attention to your surroundings,” she said.
Parker adds the reason the sturgeons come to the Suwannee River is to spawn in the spring. She said there was nothing Tina Fletcher did wrong to provoke the fish.