A program for the protection and rehabilitation of Danube sturgeons

In January 2012, a group of sturgeon experts, NGO delegates, and representatives of the ICPDR, the Danube Strategy and national governments established the Danube Sturgeon Task Force (DSTF). Its aim is to coordinate and foster the conservation of native sturgeon species in the Danube River Basin and the adjacent Black Sea by the implementation of the Sturgeon Action Plan adopted under the Bern Convention in 2005. The general aim is to close the natural sturgeon life-cycle that can only be achieved by joint and simultaneous actions in the Upper, Middle and Lower Danube. The Program “STURGEON 2020” was launched as a response to one of the targets of Priority Area 6 of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region: to “Secure viable populations of Danube sturgeon species and other indigenous fish species by 2020.” It is not a single project, it is a sub-stratgey, out of which several projects are developed. The DSTF Strategy to implement the Sturgeon 2020 program is based on the Sturgeon Action Plan objectives and actions which can be grouped in four major categories: (A) Basin-wide coordination of sturgeon policy and best-practice management, (B) Legislation and enforcement controls for sturgeon fisheries and trade, (C) Conservation of sturgeon species and populations, including their genetic integrity, and (D) Protection, management and restoration of sturgeon habitats, including reopening of migration routes.

The "Sturgeon 2020", a strategy and program for the protection and rehabilitation of the Danube sturgeons, was published by the Danube Sturgeon Task Force. The Danube Sturgeon Task Force (DSTF) has developed the strategy and program "Sturgeon 2020", this document is now available with a revised layout. "Sturgeon 2020" combines environmental and socio-economic measures. The DSTF is a platform for scientists, international organisations, NGOs and other entities concerned with sturgeons in the Danube Basin and Black Sea. The ICPDR is one of the organisations supporting the DSTF, which is endorsed and supported by Priority Area 6 (Biodiversity and Landscape Diversity) of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region.