LIFE FOR DANUBE STURGEONS – a project of WWF in Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine, the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority in Romania and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany, co-funded by the European Union – has come to an end. In cooperation with fishermen, enforcement authorities and retailers in […]
While the fragmentation of rivers by transversal structures like hydropower dams pose a threat to natural fish populations if they are no longer able to migrate between important habitats, poaching remains one of the significant causes of the “dinosaurs of the Danube” nearing extinction. 26 April 2021 – Hot on the heels of the […]
Almost 1/3 of sturgeon caviar and meat products in four key countries were sold illegally. 214 cases of poaching related incidents were recorded by authorities. 7 out of 8 sturgeon species in Europe are threatened with extinction. Vienna, 12 April – With all but one of Europe’s remaining sturgeon species facing extinction, a […]
This year’s celebrations of World Fish Migration day had to be reconsidered, because of the global pandemic situation. Our team in Romania marked the occasion with a short film, dedicated to fish. The ”World Fish Migration Day” film was aired on national TV on Saturday, 24th October 2020. The video was financed by the Danube […]
WWF planned to organise a field trip to share the experience gathered throughout the “Life for Danube Sturgeons” project, however, just as with everything else in 2020, the plan was disrupted by the global pandemic. Utilising the available technology, the project team managed to organise a virtual tour on 25th November, to reach out to […]
The fishing association Amur-Nikopol applied for funding to develop the first of its kind boat tourism in the Danube, at the town of Nikopol, in Bulgaria. The application was developed together with WWF, as part of the project “LIFE for Danube Sturgeons”. The idea of the proposal is to use the skills, equipment and qualification […]
Piloting a new method of sturgeon monitoring proves successful in Bulgaria, where fishermen were enabled to report on accidental catches. Between July 2018 and September 2020, WWF has received over 250 photos and videos of sturgeons, taken by fishermen at the Danube and the Black sea. Why use fishermen for sturgeon monitoring? Without systematic […]
A new brochure, related to infringements of sturgeon protection legislation, addresses prosecutors in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. The need for more information for legal professionals on wildlife protection legislation has been expressed by experts from within and outside the system. It is becoming even more important that prosecutors are aware of the significance of […]
Another sturgeon crime case reported in Romania only 4 months after the last major sturgeon poaching incident in Tulcea County In April this year, WWF-Romania reported that 66 frozen Sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) were discovered by the Romanian Border Police in a car trunk in Tulcea County. In Romania, it has been illegal to fish for […]
Since sturgeons like to swim on the gravelly bottom, the present low water level in the Tisza River has enabled poachers to set nets under more favourable conditions in the shallows. Once again, it turned out that the dead of night is the time when poachers are most active. However, fish wardens around the Banat […]
A new sturgeon tutorial is here for our youngest nature explorers who are interested to know more about sturgeons, one of the oldest inhabitants of the Danube River – and even the planet. Can you imagine that sturgeons are as old as dinosaurs? Nowadays, unlike dinosaurs, sturgeons still can be found on Earth, but they […]
The brochures are created as a result of the series of meetings with law enforcement agencies in the project countries, who together with the LIFE for Danube Sturgeon’s team have identified their greatest information needs that would help them in cases of illegally poached sturgeons. Only in May 2020, Romanian law enforcement agencies reported three cases […]
