Danube Countries Start a Joint Sturgeon Monitoring Initiative to Save Europe’s Migratory Giants

Nine countries along the Danube River have joined forces to protect some of Europe’s most endangered species: the sturgeons. On 9–10 July, thirteen project partners and strategic allies – including national ministries, universities, NGOs and research bodies – gathered in Bucharest to launch “MonStur in the Danube”, a new cross-border effort to monitor and protect these ancient migratory fish.

Co-financed by the Interreg Danube Region Programme, this three-year project will establish the first-ever transboundary sturgeon monitoring system in the Danube River Basin, laying the foundation for the long-term conservation of migratory fish.

A shared solution for a shared challenge
Sturgeons, often referred to as “living fossils”,  have been swimming in the Danube for millions of years. But due to overfishing, destroyed habitats, and river fragmentation, most native species are now on the brink of extinction. Two of the six Danube sturgeon species (Acipenser ruthenus, A. nudiventris, Huso huso, A. gueldenstaedtii, A. stellatus, A. sturio) are already lost; the rest survive only in scattered populations.

MonStur in the Danube addresses this urgent situation by:

• developing a common monitoring system that harmonizes methodology and establishes shared databases for populations and habitats across countries;
• mapping critical habitats and migration corridors from Germany to the Black Sea; 
• testing joint techniques like eDNA sampling and telemetry to track population status;
• providing national and EU policy makers with scientific evidence and shared recommendations;
• raising public awareness and involving local authorities and communities in sturgeon protection.

The project will contribute directly to the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), the Pan-European Action Plan for Sturgeons (PANEUAP), and the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030.

From field data to policy impact
The monitoring system piloted by MonStur in the Danube will deliver not only population and habitat data, but also recommendations for national and regional river basin management plans. It will support better coordination among sectorial authorities – especially in areas where new spawning habitats are discovered and must be protected from infrastructure development or other threats.

Within the MonStur in the Danube project, researchers from the Institute of Zoology of the Moldova State University will conduct scientific investigations on a section of the Prut River, applying the method of sonar substrate scanning, in order to assess the quality of the habitat used by these fish species, including during the breeding and wintering periods. The meeting in Bucharest on July 9-10 was a good opportunity for the team of the Institute of Zoology to get to know the project partners better, and to discuss face to face multiple details related to the implementation of the project.

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About the Project
Project title: Establishing, testing and launching a transboundary system for Monitoring Sturgeons, to manage and safeguard migratory fish in the Danube River Basin
Interreg Danube Region Programme 2021–2027
Programme Priority: A greener, low-carbon Danube Region
Duration: 01.04.2025–31.03.2028
Total EU contribution: 1.657.573,20 EUR
Total budget: 2.071.966,50 EUR
Total budget of the Moldova State University: 95.468,00 EUR

Lead partner: Romanian Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forest

Project Partners: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) - Austria, WWF Central and Eastern Europe, International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), WWF-Bulgaria, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition – Croatia,  Széchenyi István University – Hungary, Danube Delta National Institute For Research and Development – Romania, WWF Romania Association, University of Belgrade - Institute for Multidisciplinary Research – Serbia, Water Research Institute – Slovakia, Public Union World Wide Fund for Nature Ukraine, Moldova State University (MSU).

Associated Strategic Partners: 17, including the Agency „Apele Moldovei” 
Contact and further Information:  MSU project manager – Laurenția UNGUREANU, Correspondent Member of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, Professor, Doctor Habilitate in biological sciences, director of the Institute of Zoology of MSU.
Email: laurentia.ungureanu@sti.usm.md
Phone: +373 22 739809