Sturgeon Conservation and Sustainability Act of 2025

Sturgeon Conservation and Sustainability Act of 2025 would amend the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to create a specific exemption for sturgeon held in captivity or in a controlled environment. Under the bill, sturgeon that are legally kept in captivity as of the date of enactment, and their progeny, would not be subject to certain ESA restrictions—specifically, the prohibitions in section 9(a)(1) and the federal agency consultation requirements in section 7(a)(2)—until they are intentionally returned to a wild state. In short, the bill would make captive sturgeon and their offspring broadly exempt from key ESA protections for a period unless and until they are released back into the wild. The exemption comes with a new requirement: people or entities holding such sturgeon must demonstrate that the stock qualifies for the exemption and must maintain and, if the Secretary requests, provide inventories, documentation, and records. The Secretary may set the specific recordkeeping requirements, aiming to avoid duplicative rules with existing regulations. The overall goal appears to be facilitating captive sturgeon farming and controlled-environment management while preserving some government oversight through documentation, though it would remove certain ESA restrictions for the captive stock.