Saving sturgeon in Romania
Environmentalists are trying to head off a European Union plan to deepen shipping channels that they fear could eliminate the last shallows where the sturgeon deposit their eggs - dooming the fish to vanish in its last stronghold in Europe.
Section:Picture story
In this May 17, 2011 picture, a sturgeon swims in an aquarium in the Danube River port city of Tulcea, Romania.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
Sturgeon have thrived in the Danube for 200 million years, migrating from feeding grounds in the Black Sea to Germany 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) upstream. Archaeologists have found wooden sturgeon traps in the ruins of Roman fortresses behind the willow trees on the Danube’s banks, along with sturgeon bones dated to the 3rd century.
Associated Press
In this May 17, 2011 picture, a sturgeon swims in an aquarium in the Danube River port city of Tulcea, Romania.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
In the 1970s and ‘80s Romania built giant dams across the Iron Gates gorge, cutting off half the sturgeons’ spawning grounds.
Associated Press
In this May 17, 2011 picture, a man fishes from a derelict ship in the Danube Delta region of Romania.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
Fishermen, unrestrained after the collapse of order in eastern Europe in 1989, caught them in huge numbers as they began their migration, trapping them before they could reproduce. Pollution from agricultural run-off and expanding cities put them under further pressure, although the construction of water treatment plants in the last decade has lessened the flow of filth.
Associated Press
In this May 17, 2011 picture, a man carries fish on the banks of the Danube Delta region of Romania.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
The ancient fish, which outlasted the dinosaurs, has been critically endangered by overfishing for its caviar, which can cost over 6,000 euros (8,900 dollars) per kilogramme, the WWF said.
AFP
In this May 17, 2011 picture, a bird flies next to the banks of the Danube Delta region of Romania.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
In this May 17, 2011 picture, a man walks next to a small boat and a European Union flag in the Danube Delta region of Romania.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
Now environmentalists are trying to head off the latest threat: a European Union plan to deepen shipping channels in the Danube that they fear could eliminate the last shallows where the sturgeon deposit their eggs, which would doom the fish to vanish in its last stronghold in Europe.
Associated Press
In this May 16, 2011 picture, swans swim with their cygnets near the banks of the Danube Delta region of Romania.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
In this May 17, 2011 picture, a cat relaxes on the banks of the Danube Delta region of Romania.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
Sturgeon, which can live a century or more in both salt and fresh water, are genetically wired to reproduce only where they themselves were born. Equipped with four nostrils, each fish sniffs its way to its birthplace, says researcher Radu Suciu. After the Iron Gates went up, fish west of the two dams effectively were rendered infertile. The reproduction rate was reduced by half, said Suciu, of the Danube Delta National Institute in Tulcea, at the mouth of the Danube Delta.
Associated Press
In this May 16, 2011 picture, a man drives a barge on the Danube River, in Romania, in the Danube Delta region.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
International trade in sturgeon was banned in 2001, and in 2006 Romania outlawed sturgeon fishing, followed by Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova and lately Bulgaria.
Associated Press
In this May 16, 2011 picture, a man uses binoculars on the banks of the Danube Delta region of Romania.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
In this May 16, 2011 picture, people wash their laundry in the waters of the Danube Delta region of Romania.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
Food and Agriculture Organization agreed to explore building a fish ladder for the sturgeon to crawl around the Iron Gates dams. But unlike salmon, sturgeon cannot jump and would have to use powerful underside muscles to climb nearly 40 meters (130 feet) through a chain of pools.
Associated Press
In this May 16, 2011 picture, fishermen use a net in the Danube Delta region of Romania.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
In this May 17, 2011 picture, people watch sturgeons at an aquarium in the Danube River port city of Tulcea, Romania.
Nicolae Dumitrache Associated Press
Right now it’s teetering on the edge of extinction,” said Andreas Beckmann, director of the Danube-Carpathian program of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, or WWF. “That one project, depending on how it’s done, could push it over the edge.” Under the plan, engineers would block partially several side channels of the Danube and divert water to the main fairway, enabling year-round shipping through what are now low-water bottlenecks. Concrete would reinforce the banks of some islands. European and Romanian officials insist the proposed action would not further endanger the fish in the wild, free-flowing waters of the Lower Danube.
Associated Press