HELCOM Action Plan for the protection and recovery of the Baltic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus

Transcription

1 HELCOM Action Plan for the protection and recovery of the Baltic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus By the Herlcom Baltic sturgeon PG Authors: Jörn Gessner 1,2, Gerd-Michael Arndt 2,3, Andrzej Kapusta 4, Sergey 5, Alexey Gushin 6, Andrej Pilinkovskij 7, Justas Povliūnas 7, Ruta Medne 8, Santa Purvina 8, Meelis Tambets 9, Peter Rask Möller 10

2 Contents What is sturgeon? Why do we need coordinated action? What can we do? How can it be done?

3 The Baltic sturgeon The Baltic sturgeon was an integral part of the Baltic fauna until the middle of the 20th century. The species is an anadromous, migratory fish spending most of its life in marine waters while returning to its native river for reproduction. Paaver 1996

4 3-4d 12-15d 6-24 mon. 2-3 Mon 2-7 yrs 9-17 yrs

5 The Baltic sturgeon The Baltic sturgeon was an integral part of the Baltic fauna until the middle of the 20th century. The species is an anadromous, migratory fish spending most of its life in marine waters while returning to its native river for reproduction. Sexual maturity is reached at ages of years but can be delayed to years in colder climate Maximum size is >4.5m and >450kg while max. age exceeds 120 years Paaver 1996

6 The Baltic and the sturgeon Lake Lagoga Sturgeons Ostereinhelleren started to colonize the Baltic 5,000 b.p. 7,000 b.p. immediately after the basin got connected to the North Sea Segebro 8,000 b.p. From the beginning A. oxyrinchus was the species present (Nikulina & Schmölcke Ypenburg 2016) 5,500 b.p. Niedergörne 5,000 b.p. Abundances increased massively during the Ponthezières 14-16th century 5,000 b.p. Fisheries overharvest became significant already in the 15th -17th century

7 Reasons for the decline Besides anthropogenic changes to rivers such as channelizations (associated to habitat loss and reduced river productivity and diversity), the construction of hydrodams (which block the upstream migration to spawning sites), pollution (with major impacts mostly on the early life phases), overfishing has been identified to be the key impact that caused the dramatic decline of the population in the Baltic Sea area.

8 Restoration attempts for the Baltic sturgeon Carried out since 1996, supported by a respective HELCOM project since 1997 The recovery measures mainly focus on the southern Baltic Sea states HELCOM and the Baltic Sea states support (through the BSAP) the re-introduction of Baltic sturgeon in key areas of its former natural range If successful, these measures are an important contribution to protect and maintain biodiversity Despite ongoing rehabilitation measures the situation with no remaining functional population in the Baltic Sea area is still dramatic and requires concerted support

9 Main threats for the return of the species 1. Mortality caused by accidental catch (by-catch) and illegal fishing (poaching) 2. Changes of hydrology and hydromorphology in rivers and estuaries affect spawning and nursery habitats 3. Dams block migration to spawning sites 4. Anthropogenic environmental pollution drastically affects reproductive success 5. The introduction of allochthonous (sturgeon) species can cause competition, pathogen transfer, and hybridization 6. Climate change increases water temperature, alters fauna composition and discharge

10 Action Plan scope Based upon the previous reasons for decline and potential threats Addressing the shortcomings that became obvious in the preparation the EU LIFE projects 2014 and 2015 Aiming to increase the attention and the focus in order to ensure effective recovery The AP lists the requirements for target oriented implementation of the restoration in different categories

11 Category 1: EX SITU PROTECTION

12 Objective 1: Actively support the recovery of the target populations to initiate a positive population trend. Action 1: Ex situ broodstock development of Acipenser oxyrinchus Action 2: Controlled reproduction and rearing for fitness Action 3: Release of A. oxyrinchus for population re-establishment and enhancement

13 Category 2: IN SITU PROTECTION

14 Regional focus - current Baltic sturgeon distribution??

15 Objective 2: Protect populations under recovery from accidental and directed removal of individuals Action 4: Significantly reduce by-catch mortality Action 5: Monitor population sizes and structure to facilitate timely and continuous detection of adverse impacts Action 6: Eliminate illegal trade of all sturgeon products

16 Objective 3: Protect and restore the sturgeon habitats where necessary Action Exotic sturgeons 7: Habitat identification and assessment Germany measures Action 8: Protect and restore essential riverine and estuarine sturgeon habitats Action 9: Effectively control the introduction of allochthonous (sturgeon) species

17 Objective 4: Secure or facilitate sturgeon migration in target rivers Action 10: Prohibit the planning and construction of migration obstacles with less than 30% of discharge for mitigation facilitation in sturgeon rivers See anything? Action 11: Restore migration in key rivers with existing dams Vattenfall AG

18 Category 3: ADMINISTRATIVE PREREQUISITES AND OUTREACH

19 Objective 5: Increase public, administrative and political awareness on sturgeon conservation Action 12: Implement target oriented communication strategies provide a knowledge base for sturgeon restoration in (the fisheries communities) of the Baltic Sea states, increase awareness and acceptance of the measures

20 Objective 6: Set proper financial and legal prerequisites for sturgeon restoration Action 13: Promote the provision of adequate funding instruments for long-term actions Action 14: Increase the legal relevance of sturgeon conservation to ensure proper implementation

21 Objective 7: Monitor and evaluate Action Plan implementation to allow adaptive management Action 15: States, River Basin Management Units, and EU authorities nominate coordinators responsible for the implementation of the AP Action 16: Evaluate the implementation of this Action Plan on HELCOM wide level through a HELCOM Focal Point

22 Action requested THE MEETING IS INVITED TO ENDORSE THE HELCOM-ACTION PLAN AND TO DETERMINE FURTHER STEPS FOR FINAL ADOPTION AND PUBLICATION

23 Thank you for your kind attention and support! Eestii Loodushoiu Keskus KSTU Kaliningrad State Technical University VNIRO Atlantic Researach Branch