site.bta WWF Calls for Updating National Action Plan for Sturgeon to Reflect Extinction

WWF Calls for Updating National Action Plan for Sturgeon to Reflect Extinction

Sofia, June 23 (BTA) - The international environment
organization WWF calls for updating the national action plan for
 protection of the sturgeon in the Bulgarian sections of the
Danube and the Black Sea. The new plan should reflect the
extinction of some sturgeons in the Danube and ensure the
preservation of the genetic pool in the Danube and the recovery
of the species, said Ivan Hristov, head of WWF's Water
Programme. 

Of the six sturgeon species in the Danube, two have become
extinct (the Atlantic sturgeon and the bastard sturgeon), three
are critically endangered (beluga sturgeon, Russian sturgeon and
 starry sturgeon) and one, the sterlet, is in a relatively good
condition and has a potential for growth. 

WWF blame the collapse of the sturgeon population on the high
price of the sturgeon roe, poaching, water pollution and the
damming of the Danube which reduces the breeding ground of the
fish. 

In the past couple of years WWF have released in the Danube
51,183 baby sterlets as part of a project funded by the
EU-backed Operational Programme Environment. Each of the baby
sterlets is marked which will allow researchers to track the
fish. The baby sterlets were grown in conditions that are as
close as possible to real life, which maximizes their chances
for survival.