Pixies Place Forums - Way down upon the Suwannee river

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/2... IrV6Yu6PMWM0F

Text:
Jumping sturgeon hurts watercraft rider Wed Apr 18, 11:46 AM ET

OLD TOWN, Fla. - A sturgeon jumped out of a river and hit a woman riding a personal watercraft, the latest such injury involving the flying fish along the Suwannee River, officials said.

Sharon Touchton, 50, of St. Petersburg, had serious injuries, but she was later discharged from a hospital after the March 31 accident, officials said.

She had been camping with a group of personal watercraft enthusiasts near the town of Suwannee in north Florida, said Karen Parker with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The group went for a ride and Touchton was traveling 25 to 30 mph before the accident.

Touchton's husband was the first to come up behind her after the accident and found her floating face-down in the water. No one else saw the collision, so it was initially unclear what had happened.

Parker said once Touchton was able to talk to investigators, she simply said something about a "big fish."

Parker said problems with sturgeon — which are large, prehistoric-looking fish with hard plates along their backs that can grow up to 8 feet long and up to 200 pounds — came to a head last year when 10 people were injured in accidents caused by the jumping fish.

Parker said the Gulf sturgeon migrate into the Suwannee River in March to spawn, and remain in the river until the fall. And researchers still aren't sure why the large fish jump.
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At least she's recovered enough to be safe at home.