Last week (March 27th) our partners at Global Water Partnership Central and Eastern Europe (GWPCEE) and lead by Ivana Korn Varga, delivered a presentation on the iNNO SED project to the Danube Sturgeon Task Force (DTSF) at their annual DSTF general assembly meeting, which was held online. Ivana is also a member of their executive committee.
The DSTF was established within the framework of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) with a focus on Priority Area 6 (Biodiversity) in 2012 with the aim of coordinating and foster collaboration in the conservation and revival of native sturgeons (Acipenseridae) in the Danube River Basin and the adjacent Black Sea.
Sturgeons live largely in the Black Sea area, migrating up the Danube and other major rivers to spawn. They are susceptiable to anthropogenic impacts such as overfishing (e.g. caviar trade), spawning habitat loss, availability, and quality (e.g due to disruption of dynamic sedimentary transport processes, or building of dikes), and interferance with or obstruction of migration pathways (e.g. by dams), as such they are a vital indicator of healthy ecosystems.
The DSTF was established within the framework of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) with a focus on Priority Area 6 (Biodiversity) in 2012 with the aim of coordinating and foster collaboration in the conservation and revival of native sturgeons (Acipenseridae) in the Danube River Basin and the adjacent Black Sea.
Sturgeons live largely in the Black Sea area, migrating up the Danube and other major rivers to spawn. They are susceptiable to anthropogenic impacts such as overfishing (e.g. caviar trade), spawning habitat loss, availability, and quality (e.g due to disruption of dynamic sedimentary transport processes, or building of dikes), and interferance with or obstruction of migration pathways (e.g. by dams), as such they are a vital indicator of healthy ecosystems.
Upper and lower view of the Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) (Image Credit:Wikipedia)
The Danube River was populated by six key sturgeon species (listed below) which you can learn more about at the following link:
- Russian sturgeon complex (A. gueldenstaedtii, A. persicus colchicus)
- Ship sturgeon (A. nudiventris)
- Sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus)
- Stellate Sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus)
- European/Common Sturgeon (Acipenser sturio)
- Beluga (Huso huso)