The sturgeon

Once, the Rhine was the most important habitat of the European Atlantic sturgeon. The majestic fish had its native soil up to 800 kilometres upstream in Germany, went down the Rhine in its youth, to swim via the brackish delta into the North Sea. Pollution and overfishing became fatal for the sturgeon around 1950. By now, the water quality has been largely recovered, and the Haringvliet locks ajar allows for migration from and to the German native soil. Still, the sturgeon will not return on its own. A new generation of sturgeons is necessary, for whom the Rhine again counts as native soil. The organisations ARK Nature, World Wildlife Fund and Royal Dutch Angling Association are working on the return of the sturgeon in the Netherlands through the “Droomfondsproject Haringvliet” (Dream-Fund project Haringvliet). The sturgeon is the icon for a healthy delta where the transition of fresh to salt water between rivers and seas is recovered.