Once abundant along the whole coastline and present in most of the major rivers of Western Europe, the European sturgeon (Acipenser sturio L.) is a migratory fish that is threatened with extinction and internationally protected.   Today there is just one, critically small, native population remaining that can be found in the catchment areas of the Gironde, Garonne and Dordogne in France.   This species has taken on an emblematic status due to:

Protection of the European sturgeon depends largely on our capacity to reconcile the development of human activities and the conservation of quality environment.  This challenge is just as important as the protection of other more famous threatened species (the African elephant, the Bengal tiger, etc.).  Moreover, this challenge is on our doorstep, in the industrialised nations of Western Europe.

Various partners, in France, Germany and in other European countries have been working together for a number of years in an effort to save this species.  There have been reasons, since 2007,  to hope that some headway has been made thanks to the success of the first artificial reproduction of the species from captive broodstock, followed by the release of the alevins into their natural environment.  This success was repeated in 2008 and 2009.

Sturio.eu is the first information website to be concerned exclusively with the European sturgeon and it has been set up in order to inform the public in general of the knowledge that we have of this species and the numerous initiatives taken to conserve it.

You, too, can contribute to the protection of the European sturgeon by providing us with information or by supporting future awareness campaigns targeting politicians, councillors, developers, aquarium visitors, fishermen, river users, etc.