Adriatic Sturgeon

Adriatic Sturgeon

Acipenser naccarii

Adriatic sturgeon illustration

Protected Status

ESA Endangered - Foreign
Throughout Its Range
CITES Appendix II
Throughout Its Range

Quick Facts

Weight
Up to 55 pounds
Lifespan
50 years
Length
6 feet
Threats
Habitat impediments (dams), Habitat degradation, Habitat loss, Bycatch, Chemical contaminants, Entanglement
Location
Foreign
See Regulatory Actions
Adriatic sturgeon.

About The Species

The Adriatic sturgeon is found in the Adriatic sea and the Po River in Italy. Under the Endangered Species Act, NOAA Fisheries must list threatened and endangered marine species regardless of where they are found. Adriatic sturgeon is listed as endangered throughout its range under the ESA.

Status

Adriatic sturgeon used to be widespread in the Adriatic Sea and may have occurred off the Iberian Peninsula. The only remaining spawning sites are at the confluences of the Po River and its tributaries in Italy, but the last known natural spawning occurred in the early 1980s. Population size is thought to have declined by at least 80 percent over the past three generations.

Protected Status

ESA Endangered - Foreign

  • Throughout Its Range

CITES Appendix II

  • Throughout Its Range

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Acipenseriformes
Family Acipenseridae
Genus Acipenser
Species naccarii

Management Overview

In 2012, WildEarth Guardians and Friends of Animals petitioned NOAA Fisheries to list 15 foreign sturgeon species under the Endangered Species Act. In 2014, we listed five species as endangered, including Adriatic sturgeon, under the act. 

Key Actions and Documents

Actions & Documents Incidental Take

Final Rule to List Five Species of Sturgeons as Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act

We, NOAA Fisheries, issue a final determination to list five species of foreign sturgeon as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We have made our determination that Acipenser naccarii (Adriatic sturgeon), and A. sturio (European sturgeon)
Final Rule
,
National
Effective

More Information

Documents

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