Technical guideline for EX SITU conservation measures in sturgeons : support document for the implementation of the pan-European action plan for sturgeons

Sturgeon populations in European rivers and coastal waters have undergone a dramatic decline over the last 150 years. In addition to overharvest, the intensive developments of hydropower and river channelization have led to massive habitat loss and fragmentation affecting all stages of their life-cycle. As a consequence, all eight sturgeon species found in European waters were listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as threatened with extinction in 2022 and are reported as being in "unfavourable" conservation status within the frame of the reporting under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC). To improve this situation, the Pan-European Action Plan for sturgeons (PANEUAP) was adopted by the Standing Committee to the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) in the form of Recommendation No. 199(2018) and endorsed for implementation under the Habitats Directive and provides a guiding framework of actions to be implemented in sturgeon range countries by regional stakeholders including regional sea and river commissions.