site.btaNine Danube Countries Join Initiative for Sturgeon Monitoring, Conservation

A cross-border initiative called MonStur in the Danube for the monitoring and conservation of sturgeon species begins in nine countries, WWF Bulgaria said. Joining efforts within the three-year project are ministries, universities, nongovernmental organizations, and research institutes from Croatia, Romania, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Bulgaria.

Sturgeons are migratory fish dating back to dinosaur times, who nowadays are among the most endangered species on the planet due to habitat loss, migratory routes being blocked by dams, dykes, and hydroelectric power plants, overfishing, water pollution, and hybridisation. Two out of the six sturgeon species in the Danube have already been lost, WWF Bulgaria said.

MonStur in the Danube addresses this urgent situation by: developing a common monitoring system that harmonizes methodology and establishes shared databases for populations and habitats across countries; mapping critical habitats and migration corridors from Germany to the Black Sea; testing joint techniques like eDNA sampling and telemetry to track population status; providing national and EU policy makers with scientific evidence and shared recommendations; and raising public awareness and involving local authorities and communities in sturgeon protection.

WWF chief expert Stoyan Mihov said that this project sends a clear message: to conserve sturgeons for future generations, the Danube countries that share the last remaining sturgeon habitats must also share conservation efforts and the information they have about them.

WWF Sturgeon Initiative Lead Beate Striebel said, as quoted in the press release, that sturgeons do not recognise national borders – and neither should countries' efforts to protect them. “This joint monitoring initiative is a critical step toward better protection. By generating reliable, basin-wide data, we can provide both national and EU policymakers with the scientific evidence and shared recommendations they need to take meaningful action,” she noted.

In late July, WWF Bulgaria and its partners released nearly 6,500 fish of the critically endangered Russian sturgeon species into the Danube near Bulgaria's Belene.