Spawning grounds for the Acipenser sturio now only exist in France and Georgia. 

The most recent data showing that the species is present in its natural environment (except for juveniles from the last artificial reproductions) comes from accidental by-catch declarations and only cover the coastal waters of the North-East Atlantic: Norway (last known catch in 2008), France, Belgium and the Netherlands (2007), Spain (2005), the United Kingdom (2004), etc.  Due to their life expectancy that can reach up to several dozen years and the long migrations that sturgeons undertake, the presence of isolated individual specimens within the species’ range can not be discounted.

In all the countries throughout its range, the species is now in critical danger of extinction (CR), extinct or considered as being extinct (EX).  In most of these countries, it is not possible to state with absolute certainty that there is still not a single individual, so is the UICN status more often than not hypothetical (?):

-------Albania (EX ?)	--------- -Spain (EX ?)	----------Iceland (EX ?)	----------Czech Republic (EX) (2)
-------Algeria (EX ?)	-----------Estonia (EX ?)	----------Ireland (EX ?)	----------Romania (EX ?)
-------Germany(CR ?)	--------- -Federation of Russia (EX ?)	----------Italy (EX ?)	----------United Kingdom (CR)
-------Austria (EX ?)	-----------Finland (EX ?)	----------Morocco (EX ?)	----------Serbia (EX ?) (3)
-------Belgium (CR ?)	-----------France (CR)	----------Norway (EX ?)	----------Slovenia (EX ?)
-------Bulgaria (EX ?)	-----------Georgia (CR ?)	----------Netherlands (CR ?)	----------Sweden (EX ?)
-------Croatia (EX ?)	-----------Greece (EX ?) (1)	----------Poland (EX ?)	----------Turkey (EX?)
-------Denmark (EX ?)	-----------Hungary (EX ?)	--------- Portugal (EX ?)	----------Ukraine (EX ?)

Levels of national or regional protection differ from country to country.  The species may be officially protected even when it is considered to be extinct (e.g.: Greece and Italy).  It is in any case at least protected by the transposition of international protection agreements into national laws in all the Countries throughout its past (and therefore current) range.