Spring 2024
Spring 2024 has arrived, and it's time to move the sturgeons out of the nursery tanks. Some of the sturgeons were suitable for river release, and on May 6th, 477 one-summer-old sturgeons, each averaging 11.1 grams, were released into the Narva River, their new natural habitat.The remaining small sturgeons, brought from Germany last summer, will live and grow in outdoor ponds until autumn. These ponds, where the water warms under the sun, provide excellent growth conditions. In special smooth-bottomed tanks equipped with automatic feeders, the sturgeons have the best conditions for growth, preparing them for release into the wild in autumn.
Nearly one-year-old sturgeons in the outdoor ponds at Põlula.
On May 9th and 10th, the project was visited by Luule Sinnisov, a project monitor from the European Commission's CINEA agency. For two days, we reviewed the progress of the project, current status, and future plans, discussing questions related to the project implementation. We also visited the Põlula Center to learn about fish farming practices and the intricate and continuous care required for sturgeon cultivation.
In the spring and summer, the sturgeons spend their time in outdoor ponds in special tanks. In the photo: K. Klaas introduces the Põlula facilities for sturgeon rearing to project monitor L. Sinnisov.
On June 4th, the third meeting of the project steering group took place at Põlula. The agenda for the meeting was as follows:
- Overview of the status and distribution of sturgeon in the Baltic Sea, Europe, and worldwide. An interesting presentation was given by Jörn Gessner, a leading scientist at the German Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, head of the HELCOM Sturgeon Expert Group, vice president of the World Sturgeon Conservation Society, and co-author of the Pan-European Sturgeon Conservation Action Plan.
- Overview of the project's activities and progress. Presentations were made by Meelis Tambets (Estonian Nature Conservation Center), Teppo Vehanen (Natural Resources Institute Finland), and Mart Thalfeldt (State Forest Management Centre).
- Overview of the Põlula Fish Rearing Centre. Kunnar Klaas, head of the Põlula Fish Rearing Centre, provided an overview of the center, its activities, and issues and goals related to sturgeon rearing. A tour of the center's facilities and grounds was also conducted.
In addition to discussing topics related to project implementation and improving the status of sturgeon, several other issues related to rivers and endangered fish species were addressed, such as the ecological disaster that occurred in the Oder River in 2022.
On June 5th, leading project experts M. Tambets, J. Gessner, and G. Arndt familiarized themselves with the Pärnu River, which is the second river in the project where young sturgeons will be released. Experts from the Estonian Nature Conservation Center and Germany jointly reviewed key locations related to opening fish migration routes in the Pärnu River—specifically, the sites of the Jändja, Kurgja, and Sindi dams. Together, they assessed the suitability and quality of the Pärnu River habitats for sturgeon. The experts were very satisfied with what they saw, and the next sturgeon release is now being planned.
The Pärnu River is awaiting the return of the sturgeon after the removal of the Sindi dam. In the photo: M. Tambets, J. Gessner, and G.-M. Arndt are satisfied with the Pärnu River.
The Project “ Bringing back the extinct sturgeon into the North-Eastern Baltic Sea” (LIFE21-NAT-EE-LIFE Baltic Sturgeon) is implemented with the financial support of the LIFE Programme of the European Union and Project implementers.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the CINEA can be held responsible for them.