A huge amount of work was carried out on the European sturgeon from 1994 to 1997, then from 1998 to 2001 through two research, conservation and awareness programmes that were financially supported by the European Union (the Financial Instrument for Environmental and Nature Conservation projects) and jointly led by the Interdepartmental Public Establishment of Dordogne and the Cemagref of Bordeaux. 

These programmes enabled:

- an improvement in the knowledge of the biology of the species to be documented;

- the abundance and growth of population in the wild to be monitored, thanks to tagging campaigns and subsequent recapture of the sturgeon;

- potential spawning and juvenile feeding grounds to be identified so that they might be protected;

- fishermen awareness campaigns to be carried out (Operation "Atlantique Sturio");

- constitution of captive stock that can participate in future population strengthening operations in the Gironde basin and the reintroduction of the species in other catchment basins.

 

Thanks to two reproductive adults, a by-catch female and a male caught on board the Esturial during sampling campaigns, scientists at Cemagref successively carried out a first artificial reproduction that produced viable alevins.  These alevins formed part of an experimental introduction of alevins in the Rivers Garonne and Dordogne.  A fraction of the alevins were kept  by both Cemegref at Saint-Seurin sur l’Isle, where they were born, and the German research institute, IGB, in order to limit the risks and to increase the research effort by using these alevins to contribute to future reproductive stock.  This artificially produced generation (1995) and that obtained from the last known natural reproduction in the basin (1994) have been closely monitored by Cemagref.