About
the
project

With the LIFE-Boat 4 Sturgeon project, its international partners pursue the goal of saving the remaining four sturgeon species in the Danube river basin from extinction. From 2022 to 2030, the project partners will be implementing six conservation measures to rescue the species Russian sturgeon, sterlet, stellate sturgeon and beluga sturgeon.

The project partners include the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (lead), the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management, viadonau, the City of Vienna, WWF Romania, WWF Ukraine, WWF Bulgaria, Revivo, MATE and the Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre SAS. The majority of the funding is provided by the EU through the LIFE programme.

With the contribution of the LIFE-Programme of the European Union

project
goals

Sturgeons are the world’s most endangered animal family. Two of the six sturgeon species that previously inhabited the Danube river basin have already become extinct in the area. The remaining species are still classified as endangered and critically endangered on the IUCN Red list (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources). This project aims to establish a living gene bank for the remaining four sturgeon species in the Danube river basin and strengthen the wild fish population by introducing young fish from the project hatcheries to the habitat.

report
a catch

To gather as much information as possible, we are asking all fishermen and women to help us! If you catch a sturgeon in the Danube river basin, and have the opportunity to safely contain it in the body of water for a short while, please contact the project team immediately to discuss how to proceed.

If safely containing the fish is not an option, please take the following steps:

Measure and photograph the fish
Check the fish for colour markings on the bottom of its snout next to its barbels
Take note of the time and place as well as any other anomalies
Send the data to the project team via email or a messaging service (WhatsApp/Signal/text message) to +43 650 4507428

the
measures

Establishing the “LIFE-Boat 4 Sturgeon”, a floating hatchery in the Danube in Vienna (Austria) to keep and reproduce broodstock and rear juveniles. In addition, a similar hatchery for fish broodstock will be built along the Koros (Hungary) to minimise risks. Another hatchery container will be installed on the Mur’s riverbank (Slovenia).
Establish genetically diverse captive broodstocks of mature animals of danube origin.
Implementing the reproduction, rearing und releases of juvenile fish using using state-of-the-art methodologies regarding imprinting and fitness for survival.
Protecting the remaining fish population and the reintroduced young fish in the Lower Danube and the Black Sea by working closely with fishery authorities and creating awareness in local fishing villages.
Implementing a standardized monitoring programme in all countries involved in the project using environmental DNA and tagging to track the population’s development and the success of the reintroduction measures.
Promoting extensive public engagement in the project to significantly improve the general public’s awareness about the importance of healthy river ecosystems and species such as sturgeons.