CHIEFLAND, Fla. -- A 6-year-old girl's leg was broken when she was struck by a sturgeon while riding on a boat in the Suwannee River, wildlife officials said.

Taylor Lane Owen, of Old Town, was a passenger in the 20-foot vessel, along with her parents and other family members Sunday. The boat was just north of the Yellow Jacket Boat Ramp, about nine miles west of Chiefland, when a 3-foot sturgeon jumped out of the river and struck her.

Taylor received a broken leg and her aunt sustained bruises and cuts.

"This is the third confirmed sturgeon strike on 2007. Four people have been injured. That's four too many," said Maj. Bruce Hamlin, regional commander for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's North Central Region, based in Lake City.

Hamlin said the commission is trying to increase awareness of the sturgeon attacks and warning people to go slow while boating on the Suwannee River.

Ten people were injured in 2006, he said.

"We are also looking for suggestions from the public as to how we can make this campaign even more effective. If anyone has an idea how we can get the word out to those folks recreating on the Suwannee River, we'd like to hear it," Hamlin said.