Vienna's large-scale breeding station to save sturgeon from extinction

In April, the city of Vienna is set to open one of the world's largest sturgeon breeding stations in a bid to save the fish from extinction. 

Located next to the city's Danube island, the breeding basins are the latest conservation effort to counteract illegal poaching for sturgeon caviar – which continues along the river despite fishing bans.

"The sturgeons are so-called living fossils," Viennese ecologist Heidi Eichhorn explains, comparing their appearance to those of dragons. 

"They've been around for over 200 million years... but the social or economic context of the species is a sad one."

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), sturgeons are the most endangered species group on earth. Their eggs, which are considered a delicacy, continue to be sold on the black market.

"For a fisherman to fish a sturgeon with caviar... this is like winning a lottery," WWF conservationist Jutta Jahrl tells CGTN. "He could get 40 kilograms of caviar out of one fish. So for a fisherman this would mean a double year's income."

In 2021, a survey across markets in the Danube Delta found that 19 percent of the available sturgeon caviar and meat derived from illegal poaching. Jahrl and her conservationist colleagues are now trying to help fishermen find other sources of income.

Boat-based breeding boon

That's why 1.6 million genetically diverse sturgeons are to be bred – on a boat: the LIFE-Boat 4 Sturgeon breeding station, on the Danube in Vienna. 

Co-financed by the European Union, the prominently located vessel also aims at raising more awareness among locals and tourists alike. In addition, hatcheries are being constructed along the rivers Koros (in Hungary) and Mur (in Slovenia).

The project will also try to establish a standardized monitoring program in all countries involved, using environmental DNA and tagging to track the population's development and the success of the reintroduction measures.

Vienna's floating breeding station already hosts hundreds of freshly hatched sturgeons – which are for now kept in a container next to the boat.

"The smaller they are, the more you have to feed them," says Eichhorn. She uses fresh Danube water to imprint the future habitat onto the young sturgeons – until their release into the river. 

While Eichhorn says it's not an easy task – "At the beginning it's really a 24/7 job, I would say" – it's increasingly popular. 

"This is probably one of the largest sturgeon conservation projects globally at this point," says Thomas Friedrich, who coordinates the LIFE-Boat 4 Sturgeon project.

"A lot of motivated young people, that are dedicated to the purpose... that gives joy and that also gives an optimistic feeling towards the future."

While the vessel illustrates Austrian determination to save the sturgeon, the Danube flows through several countries during its 2,850-kilometer course between the Black Forest and the Black Sea. Starting in Germany, it enters Austria then visits Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine. 

Often, sturgeon released into the Danube merely end up being illegally poached further downstream – leaving conservationists infuriated and saddened. That's why the WWF highlights the need for more awareness among both caviar shoppers and fishermen.