First expedition within the MonStur in the Danube project

The fieldwork within the project DRP0301251, titled „Establishing, testing and launching a transboundary system for Monitoring Sturgeons, to manage and safeguard migratory fish in the Danube River Basin” (acronym – MonStur in the Danube), began at the end of March.

Two project staff members – Dr.Hab. Dumitru Bulat and PhD Denis Bulat – travelled to Cantemir districts with the purpose to preliminary investigate the sector of the Prut River near the Antonești village. Stationary and floating fishing gear were installed on the bottom and in the water column. Due to the adverse conditions (sudden drop in water level, dead leaves and filamentous algae carried by the water flow), scientific fishing was substantially hampered. As a result of the effort, the following species were captured and morphometrically analyzed: silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), vimba bream (Vimba vimba) and silver bream (Blicca bjoerkna).

In order to facilitate the implementation of the project Monstur in the Danube, a Humminbird Apex 13 side scan sonar was purchased and already delivered to the Institute of Zoology, Moldova State University, on 27 March 2026. It will be used later in field conditions to determine the suitability of the habitat for sturgeon reproduction and, possibly, for their detection, in particular, the sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus).

The project Monstur in the Danube is carried out within the Interreg Danube Region Programme 2021-2027, co-funded by the European Union. More details about the project are available on the project website https://interreg-danube.eu/projects/monstur-in-the-danube and on the website of the Institute of Zoology https://zoology.usm.md/monstur-danube.
 

PhD Lucia Bilețchi, Dr.Hab. Dumitru Bulat