A great achievement in the protection of the most valuable sturgeon species in Ukraine - more than 2.5 thousand young sturgeon fish have been released into the Danube River in Odesa region.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

This extremely important event was initiated by WWF-Ukraine, which has been working to preserve sturgeon species in Ukraine for more than 5 years.

The stocking of the Danube was made possible thanks to the financial support of WWF-Netherlands in cooperation with Rewilding Europe to ensure the survival of sturgeon species in Ukraine.

"Sturgeon juveniles were raised at the Odesa Sturgeon Complex. More than 2.5 thousand young fish, with an average weight of 150 to 300 grams, are already conquering the waters of the Danube," the Ministry of Agriculture emphasized in an announcement.

It is worth noting that this event is not only of environmental importance, but also has a far-sighted strategic goal - to help restore the sturgeon population in the Danube and ensure their monitoring and protection of their habitats.

Vitaliy Holovnya, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, noted that sturgeon populations remain endangered due to various factors such as hydroelectric construction, river regulation, intensive commercial fishing and poaching. All of these factors have caused a significant decline in the number of sturgeon fish, leading to their listing in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. The Russian aggression and the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant also led to an environmental and humanitarian disaster that threatens the existence of many species of wildlife, including sturgeon.

"Sturgeon are one of the most valuable representatives of the fish world of the lower Danube. They play an important role in river ecosystems, but at the same time are a very vulnerable species. WWF-Ukraine is systematically working to restore populations of Red Listed sturgeon species in the Ukrainian part of the Danube," emphasized Oksana Kovalenko, Head of the Water Department at WWF-Ukraine.

According to the interim head of the State Fisheries Agency of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, this year there has been an increase in the number of sturgeon, especially in the summer in the Danube estuary. That is why the State Fisheries Agency has taken additional measures to preserve these species, including a ban on commercial fishing in certain parts of the Danube.

"Increasing the number of sturgeons in the Danube is an important step for their conservation and restoration. As the sturgeon gene pool was lost due to the terrorist actions of Russian aggression in the south of Ukraine," Klymenok emphasized.