The Danube Sturgeon

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  The Danube Sturgeon

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• The story: According to a report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), illegal sale of Danube Sturgeon, one of the most endangered species in the world, is rampant in the lower Danube (River) region, especially in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine.
• Danube: River Danube is the second longest river in Europe after the Volga. It rises in the Black Forest mountains of western Germany and flows for some 2,850 km to its mouth on the Black Sea. 

1. Sturgeons have existed since the time of dinosaurs, for about 200 million years. Some of the species can grow up to eight metre in length and live more than a century. They are called ‘living fossils’ because their appearance has altered very little over the years. "Living Fossil" is an organism that has remained unchanged from earlier geologic times and whose close relatives are usually extinct. Other than Sturgeons, Horseshoe crab and ginkgo trees are examples of living fossils.
2. Because the sturgeons live for so many years, mature late and spawn with long intervals, they take a long time to recover from environmental and human pressures, according to WWF. This makes them great indicators for the health of the river and other ecological parameters.
3. There are 27 species of sturgeons and paddlefishes distributed across the Northern hemisphere. While some species inhabit only freshwater, most species are anadromous, spawning in freshwater but spending much of their life history in marine or brackish environments. The Danube sturgeons live mostly in the Black Sea, migrating up the Danube and other major rivers to spawn.

• Threats: Over-exploitation and poaching (exacerbated by poor fishery management and insufficient legal enforcement of fishing bans). Blocked migration routes through dams. Loss or degradation of habitats. Pollution that kills.
• Protection Status: (i) IUCN Red list: There are 6 species of sturgeon in the Danube River. Five of them are now listed as critically endangered; (ii)     CITES: Appendix-II.
• World Wildlife Fund for Nature: It is the world’s leading conservation organization and works in more than 100 countries. It was established in 1961 and is headquartered at Gland, Switzerland. Its mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth. Some of the important initiatives of WWF include the TX2 Goal, TRAFFIC, Living Planet Report and the Earth Hour.
• Black Sea: It is an inland sea located between far-southeastern Europe and the far-western edges of the continent of Asia and the country of Turkey. It connects to the Mediterranean Sea first through the Bosporus Strait, then through the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles Strait, then south through the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Crete. The Black Sea is also connected to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch. The bordering countries are Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, and Turkey.
• Knowledge centre:

1. Longest rivers in Europe = (1) River Volga (River Mouth: Caspian Sea near Astrakhan) – Length: 3790 km, (2) River Danube (River Mouth: Black Sea near Sulina) – Length: 2857 km, (3) River Ural (River Mouth: Caspian Sea in Atyrau) – Length: 2428 km, (4) River Dnieper (River Mouth: Dnieper-Bug Estuary near Kherson) – Length: 2201 km, (5) River Don (River Mouth: Sea of Azov near Azov) – Length: 1923 km, (6) River Pechora (River Mouth: Pechora Sea near Naryan-Mar) – Length: 1809 km/, (7) River Northern Dvina (River Mouth: Dvina Bay in Severodvinsk) – Length: 1803 km, (8)  River Ku (River Mouth: Caspian Sea near Neftçala) – Length: 1364 km, (9) River Dniester (River Mouth: Black Sea near Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi) – Length: 1362 km, and (10) River Elbe (River Mouth: Wadden Sea near Cuxhaven) – Length: 1245 km.

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