One of the largest Sturgeon breeding stations will open up in Vienna in April.
This facility is the latest conservation effort to save the fish from extinction.
CGTN’s Johannes Pleschberger tells us more.
This facility is the latest conservation effort to save the fish from extinction.
CGTN’s Johannes Pleschberger tells us more.
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00:00This vessel could be the saving anchor for Europe's endangered sturgeon.
00:06With construction nearing completion, Vienna's floating breeding station already hosts hundreds of freshly hatched sturgeons,
00:13which are for now kept in a container next to the boat.
00:17The smaller they are, the more you have to feed them, so at the beginning it's really a 24-7 job, I would say.
00:24Ecologist Heidi Eichhorn uses fresh Danube water to imprint the future habitat onto the young sturgeons until their release into the river.
00:33Sturgeons are so-called living fossils, so they've been around for over 200 million years.
00:39I think the cool thing about the sturgeons is that they kind of look like dragons.
00:44Yeah, sure, I mean the social or economic context of the species is a sad one, of course.
00:52According to the World Wildlife Fund, sturgeons are the most endangered species group on Earth.
00:58Despite the fishing ban, illegal poaching of wild sturgeons in the Danube continues,
01:04and their eggs, which are considered a delicacy, continue to be sold on the black market.
01:10Carrier tins like this are still sold. There's nothing on it, no idea where it comes from, no idea which source.
01:17So this is what's really interesting.
01:20In 2021, a survey across markets in the Danube Delta found that 19% of the offered sturgeon, caviar and meat derived from illegal poaching.
01:30Jutta and her conservationist colleagues are now trying to help fishermen find other sources of income.
01:36For a fisherman, for example, to fish a sturgeon with caviar, this is like winning a lottery.
01:42You could get 40 kilos of caviar out of one fish. So for a fisherman, it would mean, I don't know, a double year's income.
01:501.6 million sturgeons are to be bred on Vienna's future breeding station.
01:55Co-financed by the European Union, the prominently located boat also aims at raising more awareness among locals and tourists alike.
02:05This is probably one of the largest sturgeon conservation projects globally at this point.
02:11A lot of motivated people, young people that are dedicated to the purpose, that gives joy and that also gives you an optimistic feeling towards the future.
02:20Often bred sturgeons released upstream to Danube just end up being illegally poached further downstream, infuriating conservationists.
02:28That's why the World Wildlife Fund highlights the need for more awareness among both caviar shoppers and fishermen.
02:35Johannes Blechberger, CGTN, Vienna.