Information stands have been installed at the fish departments of 74 SILPO shops selling fish and caviar, an action that is part of the LIFE for Danube Sturgeons project.
WWF-Ukraine has launched a 3-week joint communication campaign during the holiday season with top Ukrainian retailer SILPO to promote protection of wild sturgeon and pointing out criteria for the purchase of legal sturgeon meat and caviar coming from sustainable sources. Sturgeon products such as caviar are especially popular gifts in Ukraine during Christmas. Information stands have been installed at the fish departments of 74 SILPO shops selling fish and caviar.
According to the IUCN, today sturgeons are one of the most endangered species on the planet. WWF-CEE’s long-term sturgeon strategy is to re-invigorate and re-establish healthy, stable populations of this key Danube species, and protect the Green Heart of Europe for nature and people. Currently, there is a complete ban of sturgeon fishing in the Danube and the Black Sea. However, larger fish that swim upstream to reproduce still fall prey to poaching because of the high price their caviar and meat fetches on the black market. Sturgeons are long-lived and reproduce only a few times in their life. We must make sure their habitats are protected and they are allowed to grow and thrive, or we risk losing a species which has survived over 200 million years.
