Two Old Town residents were injured in a sturgeon strike Monday afternoon, July 13, on the Suwannee River, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reported.  

Nicholas P. Bradley, 29, and his wife Jamie L. Bradley, 30, were both transported to Shands in Gainesville after being hit by a sturgeon on the Suwannee River.

They were traveling downstream between Troy Springs and the Branford boat ramp when a sturgeon jumped up and hit the windshield and both Nicholas and Jamie, according to FWC officials. Three children on board the vessel were uninjured. 
“With the low water levels in the river system, the sturgeon are jumping much more frequently than in recent years,” said Capt. Marty Redmond, area supervisor. “We want everyone boating on the Suwannee and Santa Fe rivers to be aware that the sturgeon are jumping and that people have been injured.”

According to FWC spokesperson Karen Parker, eight people have been injured and one killed involving a leaping sturgeon this year.

Earlier this month a five-year-old Trenton girl was killed and her mother and brother were injured by a leaping sturgeon while boating with their family on the Suwannee River in Dixie County, it was reported in this newspaper (search leaping sturgeon kills Trenton girl at suwanneedemocrat.com). Also this month, a Sanderson couple were injured by a leaping sturgeon on the Suwannee River in Southern Suwannee County.

“We had no reported strikes in 2013 or 2014,” said Parker. 
According to FWC, the Suwannee River has the most sturgeon, with a population of 10,000 to 14,000 fish, averaging 40 pounds, but can grow to over 200 pounds.

The FWC suggests that everyone wear their life jackets, stay off the bow of the boat and go slow while underway. Any sturgeon strikes should be reported to the FWC by calling 888-404-3922.

The FWC is investigating the incident.