Expedition Diary: Sturgeons – the Last of the Mohicans

Sturgeons are one of the most ancient families of fish in phylogenetic terms, common in Ukraine. They appeared in the Jurassic period, and this is neither more nor less than 170 million years ago. Already in the Cretaceous period, sturgeons reached their greatest prosperity and mastered the seas and oceans, large rivers and lakes. It was then that the average sturgeon reached more than seven meters. Ancient representatives of sturgeons were one of the objects of caveman fishing. In addition to valuable meat and caviar, man used the swim bladder (made from it the so-called fish glue, which was used to clarify wine), chord (used as food), spines (some of them contained chemicals that were used in medicine). Unfortunately, by hunting sturgeon, man has undermined the stocks of these important commercial fish in the past and, since 2000, industrial sturgeon fishing has been banned in Ukraine, and all native species of these rare fish (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, Acipenser stellatus, Huso huso, Acipenser Acipenser ruthenus, Acipenser sturio) "decorate" the Red Book of Ukraine. It would seem that everything has been done, sturgeon are under powerful protection. No: caviar from our mother's black market, unfortunately, stubbornly continues to flow into Europe (according to EU TWIX, 56.2% of illegal exports of black caviar to Europe are carried out from the territory of Ukraine). Sturgeons continue to be under frantic anthropogenic pressure, and the crumbs of former powerful populations have survived only in the form of remnants of sterlet groups in the Dnieper and Dnieper, which are regulated by hydroelectric construction, as well as the meager wild populations of sturgeons and wintering Danube. In many countries, the efforts of the authorities, scientists, local communities, environmental public organizations and all interested and caring nature lovers are consolidated in the matter of preserving wild sturgeons.

Recently, WWF in Ukraine called on all caring people to study the black caviar market. And on June 13-17, we took the next steps in this direction: authorized representative of WWF in Ukraine Natalia Gozak and ichthyologist Inna Goch made a reconnaissance expedition to the very heart of the wild sturgeon habitat in Ukraine - the Danube Delta and extremely important places in terms of migration. Black Sea. During the trip we met and talked with a whole army of people involved in the "sturgeon" topic: ichthyologists and ecologists, employees of nature reserve institutions, activists-members of environmental public organizations, employees of territorial fishery protection bodies, heads of fish breeding both in the state and private sector, ordinary fishermen. We heard dozens of interesting and sometimes controversial thoughts, but it is not for nothing that people say that it is in a dispute that the truth is born.

First stop: Vilkovo. First impression: it is simply impossible to live here, breathe this air and not love the water, the Danube, fish and fishing. The fishing theme is everywhere here: from the names of individual branches of the Danube based on the surnames of the first Old Believer settlers to the decoration of houses and gates of the townspeople with fish and anchors. Boats are everywhere: they are simply “parked” along the “streets-canals”, or have individually dug “paths-canals” directly under the owner’s house, large and small, “taxi” boats, excursion and cargo boats. In all the cafes, the first thing they offer us is fish: carp, catfish and, oddly enough, sturgeon. When we ask about the origin of the rare fish, which is prohibited for catching, they shrug their shoulders: aquaculture. Hmm, something to think about. Let’s move on. There are meetings with public activists and scientists who have lived here for many years and know the life of the Vilkovo residents from the inside. Immediately next to the amazing beauty of this place, problems emerge: unemployment, lack of prospects for young people, low environmental education. Somehow it becomes clear that in many cases, fishermen catch fish and valuable sturgeon not because they are malicious poachers, but because in small fishing villages there is practically no other source of income. "No education, no money - then you have a direct path to the fisherman," - the locals joke sadly. And many young people do just that, although the fishing craft is not honey: you have to work in the cold, in the wind, the work is very physically exhausting, and in many cases the coveted catch does not live up to expectations. The locals themselves see a way out of the poaching situation in the possibility of alternative earnings. And they exist because this fabulously beautiful place, rich in various fruits and berries, can become a real Mecca of green tourism and a center for the development of aquaculture. A poacher is not a poacher from birth, they convince us. In most cases, a person becomes a victim of the environment, circumstances, the lion's fate of which is lack of money. Therefore, even such a simple action as focusing the attention of children, schoolchildren or even visitors to the NRF facilities on "sturgeon" problems is relevant. Although, of course, it should be clearly understood that the formation of an "ecological" mentality is not a matter of one or two years. However, if the road is long, this does not mean that you should not go along it.

Next stop: a pearl by the sea - Odessa. The large port city greeted us with beautiful weather and the embodiment of stability: gentle surf and Duke, who calmly stood in his favorite place, despite the dollar exchange rate, the change of seasons, political vicissitudes and economic problems. It is here, at the legendary Privoz market, as Odessans themselves claim, that you can not only be inspired by the famous Odessa flavor, but also buy a couple of sturgeons in accordance with the size of your wallet. It is here that the largest scientific institutions studying sturgeons are located, it is here that we met with practical scientists who know all the problems of sturgeons from their own experience, and not from the National Geographic channel programs. What is the local fishing industry built on? After all, on the huge area of ​​about 45 thousand hectares of the Danube Delta and the Danube lakes that are integral to it, there are about 30 species of commercial fish, including carp, pike, catfish, bream, pike perch, crucian carp. However, the most important are the migratory species, mainly the Danube herring. As a rule, it is the herring fishing season, lasting about three months, that feeds the fisherman's family for the whole year. Before the ban, sturgeon also made up a small but valuable part of the catch, since beluga, stellate sturgeon, sturgeon and sterlet often fell into the hands of fishermen here. The lack of spawning grounds, the significant sparseness of the population and poaching led to the fact that encounters with fish that survived the dinosaurs are becoming less and less common.

And finally, Kherson is a city near which the largest state complex for sturgeon reproduction in Ukraine is located – the Dnieper sturgeon fish processing plant. It is nice that such enterprises exist and, of course, they should be used to preserve wild sturgeons. But it is sad that they are not used to their full capacity. For example, this year, given the very limited state funding for stocking by this enterprise, only 1 million 200 thousand young sterlet specimens were stocked. And where is the stocking of other valuable species – stellate sturgeon, sturgeon, beluga? Unfortunately, only in dreams. An interesting conversation took place with fishery protection officers. For the dialogue, we chose two coastal fishery protection departments – in Kherson and Odessa. It is no secret that many fishermen and ordinary people associate the “fish” mafia in general and the “sturgeon” mafia in particular with the coverage of this state structure. I must admit that fishery protection officers were able to shake such an unpleasant stereotype in our eyes. They themselves started talking about strengthening the fight against poaching, in particular with its organized component, amending the current environmental legislation and patching up legislative “holes”, adapting the “fish” legislative framework to European standards, fighting the corrupt component within the fishery protection agencies themselves, and exchanging experiences with Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbian and Moldovan colleagues. The conversation was long and not easy, but a confident start to cooperation has been made! It is gratifying that WWF in Ukraine has begun close cooperation with colleagues from Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Moldova, who already have extensive experience in preserving and reproducing such valuable, rare, but at the same time vulnerable sturgeons. With the support of communities, scientists, and regulatory authorities, this matter can be moved from a dead stop.

Inna Goch