Unlike any other type of fish, the European sturgeon could, along with some other species of sturgeon, be considered as a living fossil and it bears witness to the extraordinary creativity of life during evolution over the course of hundreds of millions of years.  Any extinction of a species represents an irreversible loss for which we are collectively responsible if we do nothing to stop it happening.  On the other hand, we can organise ourselves to make all the efforts necessary to “avert fate”.

Yet protecting a species is not just preventing the loss of a witness to evolution, it is also acting in support of the protection of other species and the quality of natural environments in general.  Are there any other positive effects of attempts to save the European sturgeon?  What is the impact on the restoration of water quality and habitats and the implementation of methods to be used for the sustainable use of resources and aquatic environments?  Can we expect positive effects on other species, for example Spengler’s freshwater mussel (Margaritifera auricularia), for which the European sturgeon was probably one of the host fish?

This is a good example of an “umbrella species” - it is in making efforts to conserve the sturgeon that many other species, which are part of the ecological community of its habitat, benefit indirectly from its protection.  It is also a “flagship species” that is used, with other migratory fish like the Atlantic Salmon, as a messenger to represent an environmental cause such as the reassessment of development models that could lead to excessive artificialisation of European watercourses.  In this case, re-examining the legitimacy of maintaining certain dams that constitute major obstacles to the migration of these species.

It is interesting to note that licences have not been granted for gravel extraction in the Gironde estuary due to the risks of deterioration to the European sturgeon’s important habitats.  These habitats are also major rearing grounds for fished species such as the sole and are an obligatory corridor for migratory fish that come to this basin to spawn. 

The species can also play a particular role in demonstrating the responsible management that is exercised by fisheries, which have been strongly criticised for the collapse of fish stock throughout the world.  Protection of the sturgeon illustrates the knock-on effect of new attitudes of respect towards species and the concern for sustainability of exploited stocks.

To save the European sturgeon, individuals from very different backgrounds must be united around a common aim and focus on restoring ecological functions and experiment on other means of using natural environments which respect the species that live in them.