Session E5: The Iron Gate Dams in the Danube River and Their Importance for Endangered Sturgeons

Abstract: Danube sturgeons are highly threatened (IUCN Red List) and two out of six native species are already extinct. The Sturgeon Action Plan enforced in 2005 in the framework of the Bern Convention signed by all Danube countries, lists 72 actions for sturgeon conservation. First priority is the reopening of the Iron Gate I and II hydropower dams, as these disrupt sturgeon spawning migration from the Black Sea to the Middle and Upper Danube. The situation in the region of the Iron Gate dams is extremely complex (navigation locks, transboundary between Romania and Serbia, sturgeon fishery bans, habitat degradation), and monitoring of migrating sturgeons is just in the beginning. Therefore, in view of limited experience, the design, construction and implementation of fish passages for sturgeons will be very difficult and demanding. The first steps for the necessary feasibility study were done by a FAO-Mission in 2011 and a Pilot Study performed by a Dutch Consortium during 2013/14. The respective reports will be outlined by Wilco De Bruijne in the sister presentation of this special session introduction. The political background has been prepared by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR, Danube River Basin Management Plan), and the Danube Sturgeon Task Force (DSTF) is coordinating sturgeon activities in the frame of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (Strategy/Program “Sturgeon 2020”). This special session, in particular, the Round Table discussion, is aimed at gathering state-of-the-art knowledge on sturgeon behavior related to crossing fish passes (upstream and downstream)