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Species Directory

European Sturgeon

Overview Conservation & Management Resources
The European sturgeon is found in southwestern France and western Georgia and is listed as endangered throughout its range under the Endangered Species Act. Learn more about the protected European sturgeon.

European Sturgeon

Acipenser sturio

European sturgeon illustration. Credit: Jack Hornady.

Protected Status

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

Quick Facts

Weight
Up to 2,200 pounds
Length
20 feet
Lifespan
Uncertain, but likely up to 50 years
Threats
Fisheries Bycatch, Habitat degradation, Pollution
Region
Foreign
750x500-european_sturgeon.jpg European sturgeon - Photo: NOAA Fisheries

European sturgeon - Photo: NOAA Fisheries

About the Species

750x500-european_sturgeon.jpg European sturgeon - Photo: NOAA Fisheries

European sturgeon - Photo: NOAA Fisheries

The European sturgeon is a long-lived, anadromous species. that historically bred in all large rivers in Europe. The last remaining population occurs in the Gironde-Garonne-Dordogne basin in France. The European sturgeon is listed as endangered throughout its range under the Endangered Species Act.

Population Status

The abundance of wild, mature European Sturgeon is considered to be below 800 individuals, though no detailed population estimates are available. The species last spawned in 1994 in the Garonne River, France, and genetic research suggests that the 1994 cohort originated from just one mating pair. As the wild population has such low abundance, a captive breeding and stocking program is critical to the survival of the species. Although restoration activities, including restocking of artificially bred individuals, have been successful in the Gironde estuary and the Elbe River (Germany), recovery is a slow process that may take a minimum of 30-50 years for the European sturgeon. The species currently faces threats of bycatch in commercial trawls and gillnets, pollution, climate change, and potentially competition with introduced sturgeon and predation.

Appearance

The European sturgeon is a large species that can grow up to 20 feet in length. It has an olive‐black upper body and a white belly. Like all sturgeon, the species has a cartilaginous skeleton, heterocercal caudal fins (upper lobe larger than lower), single spiracle respiratory openings, a bottom-oriented mouth with four barbels (sensory “whiskers”), a flat snout, a strong rounded body, and unique ganoid scales.

Behavior and Diet

The species can tolerate a wide range of salinities and spends most of its life in saltwater (close to the coast), but migrates to spawn in freshwater. They feed on crustaceans, mollusks, and especially worms, and small fishes as juveniles.

Where They Live

The last remaining population of European sturgeon occurs in the Gironde-Garonne-Dordogne basin in France.

Lifespan & Reproduction

Males and females mature at 8-12 years and 13-16 years, respectively. Available studies indicate that males reproduce every other year, while females only reproduce every 3 or 4 years. When adults are ready to reproduce, they return to their natal river from the marine environment and spawn from March through August among gravel and stones in the lower to middle reaches of rivers. Juveniles make a slow descent downstream to the estuary and are present in the upper estuary at one year of age. Juveniles enter the sea after a 2 to 6 year period during which they alternate movement between the sea and the estuary.

Threats

Historical alterations to the European sturgeon’s habitat, including through gravel extraction from the riverbed and damming of the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers, have resulted in the decrease in number of accessible spawning grounds and therefore contributed to the low abundance and reduced spatial distribution of the species. Further, fishing for the species is prohibited throughout its range, and despite recent increases in compliance with fisheries prohibitions, bycatch in commercial benthic trawls and gillnet fisheries threatens reintroduction efforts and is considered to be the main threat to the remaining population and a main obstacle for the species’ recovery.

Scientific Classification

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

Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 11/19/2024


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Management Overview

The European sturgeon is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Additionally, the European sturgeon is listed under:

  • Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 

Regulatory History

In 2012, WildEarth Guardians and Friends of Animals petitioned NOAA Fisheries to list 15 foreign sturgeon species under the Endangered Species Act. After completing a status review, we proposed to list five of the foreign sturgeon species as endangered, including the European sturgeon, and requested public comment. In 2014, we listed the European sturgeon as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Key Actions and Documents

Actions & Documents

5-Year Review of Five Foreign Sturgeon Species

In 2020, NOAA Fisheries announced the initiation of a 5-year review for five foreign sturgeon species: Adriatic Sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii), European sturgeon (A. sturio), Chinese sturgeon (A. sinensis), Sakhalin sturgeon (A. mikadoi), and Kaluga…
  • Notice on Initiation of a 5-Year Review (85 FR 57832, 9/16/2020)
  • 5 Foreign Sturgeon 5-year Review (2021)
Notice,
Foreign
Published
July 20, 2021

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 (79 FR 31222, 06/02/2014)
  • 12-Month Finding and Proposed Rule (78 FR 65249, 10/31/2013)
  • 90-Day Finding (77 FR 51767, 08/27/2012)
  • Petition to List Fifteen Species of Sturgeon Including Sakhalin Sturgeon Under …
  • Status Review of 5 Species of Foreign Sturgeon Including Sakhalin Sturgeon
Final Rule,
Foreign
Effective
July 2, 2014

More Information

  • Listing Foreign Species Under the ESA

Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 11/19/2024

Documents

Document

5 Foreign Sturgeon 5-Year Review

This document is the ESA 5-year review of the species based on the best available data.

National
Document

Status Review for 5 species of Foreign Sturgeon : Adriatic sturgeon, European Sturgeon, Chinese Sturgeon, Sakhalin Sturgeon, Kaluga Sturgeon

This report is the status review for five species of foreign sturgeon. This report summarizes the…

International
More Documents

Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 11/19/2024

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