1,000 sturgeon saplings released in the Danube, in Mehedinți county /WWF: „Events like this remind us all that every effort matters when the goal is to save extremely valuable species present on our planet from extinction since the time of dinosaurs” Another 1,000 sturgeon saplings were released into the Danube. Launch that took place on Tuesday in the Port Gruia area, Mehedinți county, within the LIFEBoat 4 Sturgeons project. The event marks an important step in the conservation efforts of these endangered species, informs the NGO WWF-Romania (World Wide Fund for Nature).

As part of the action, approximately 1000 sturgeon chicks were released, 500 each from the species nisetru (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) and trout (Acipenser stellatus). Each specimen bears special identification markings, facilitating further monitoring and research.

An international project to save sturgeons The launch is part of the LIFEBoat 4 Sturgeons project („LIFEBoat to save 4 species of Danube sturgeon threatened with extinction”), carried out by WWF-Romania (World Wide Fund for Nature) in partnership with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management of Austria, Vienna Community, WWF Ukraine, WWF Bulgaria, Revivo, MATE and Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre SAS. The project runs from 2022-2030.

The aim of this project is to reduce threats to sturgeon, fish on the verge of extinction in the Lower Danube and the Black Sea basin. Among the factors endangering these species are illegal fishing, trade in caviar and sturgeon meat products, as well as the disruption of migration routes and the destruction of natural habitats.

A joint effort to protect sturgeons „We launched today in the Danube, with each of the 1000 baby sturgeon, our hopes for the survival of these precious species. The LIFEBoat 4 Sturgeons project is a large one, which impresses by focusing the efforts of specialists and authorities from the participating countries. Everything to increase the chances of sturgeons to remain, in the future, among the oldest species on the planet that have survived time”, said Cristina Munteanu, National Coordinator of Sturgeon Projects, WWF-Romania.

The event benefited from the support of the Romanian authorities, with representatives of the National Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture (ANPA), the Environmental Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency (APM) Mehedinți, the National Administration of Natural Protected Areas (ANANP), the Romanian Police and the Border Police present.

Barbara Bendandi, WWF-Romania Conservation Director, emphasized the importance of this moment: „Events like this one today, when we launched 1000 baby sturgeon in the race for species survival, have an extremely important significance. I remind us all that every effort counts when the objective is to save from extinction some extremely valuable species, present on our planet since the time of dinosaurs”.

Live gene bank – a long-term solution

A major objective of the LIFEBoat 4 Sturgeons project is to create a live gene bank for the four remaining sturgeon species in the Danube basin: morun, nisetru, trout and cega. Through this approach, the specialists aim to strengthen the populations through successive restockings with chickens from the farms specially developed within the project.