Males rarely live longer than 30 years, but females have lived as long as 67 years. The maturity rates of this species differ on their geographic location (north versus south), but unlike most fish species, spawning is not a yearly event for Shortnose Sturgeon. Males spawn every other year and females every third year, laying between 40,000-200,000 eggs, which usually hatch within 13 days. Newly hatched fry are poor swimmers and drift with the currents along the bottom. Adult Shortnose Sturgeon feed primarily on large mollusks and crustaceans.