LIFE-Boat 4 Sturgeon

The Federal Office of Aquatic Science will set up a cryogenic gene bank for valuable genetic material for the LIFE-Boat 4 Sturgeon project and will house part of the parent stock and take over the rearing of some of the stocked fish.

Brief description

The LIFE-Boat 4 Sturgeon project, led by University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences together with international partners, aims to save the four remaining sturgeon species in the Danube from extinction. Between 2022 and 2030, six species protection measures will be implemented to conserve the Waxdick (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii), the Sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), the Sternhausen (Acipenser stellatus) and the Hausen (Huso huso) in the Danube.

Sturgeons are one of the most endangered animal groups in the world. Two of the original six sturgeon species in the Danube are already extinct, while the remaining four species are in some cases severely threatened. The aim of the project is to set up a floating breeding boat on the Danube and to establish a genetically diverse live breeding stock, which will be distributed to various locations, as well as to establish a cryogenic gene bank. In addition to reintroduction and protection measures, public relations work is also of great importance in order to draw attention to the situation of sturgeons in the Danube. Finally, a standardized, transnational monitoring programme will monitor the success of the previous measures.

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

Additional information