In the span of just two weeks, juvenile sturgeon of two different species, both of which were feared extinct, have been fished accidentally out of a river in the Republic of Georgia.
The two fish, the first caught in mid-March and the second three weeks later, represent a glimmer of hope for European sturgeon conservation, and appeared after experts had already expressed fears that they may have disappeared forever.
Sturgeon are a primeval fish whose evolution dates back hundreds of millions of years, and the Rioni River in Georgia historically has been a bastion of several different species.
Very little is known about the ship sturgeon, but the fact that two juveniles, each of similar age, were caught in the span of two weeks is extremely exciting as it could mean they are part of the same brood, and that sturgeon continue to spawn in the Rioni river.
Their discovery is also a vindication for the work of Flora and Fauna International (FFI) whose volunteers operate in the area trying to save the sturgeon populations. Their community outreach goals of educating everyone in the community—from schoolchildren to fishmongers—on the plight of the prehistoric fish was proven worthwhile as both of the juvenile sturgeon were caught and then reported to the FFI by the fishermen.
This allowed the conservationists to take samples, measurements, and photographs of the juvenile fish for research purposes.
Amazingly, a third fish was caught a week after the second, and was identified tentatively as a Colchic sturgeon, although it could possible be a hybrid of some kind.
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A mythological river – a mythological fish
The Rioni River is the largest within the borders of Georgia. Originating in the Caucasus Mountains, it runs 203 miles to the Black Sea and has a mythical nature to it.
Land of Princess Medea and the legendary Golden Fleece, the pre-hellenistic Greek State of Colchis rose up along the mouth of the Rioni, and it is upon the Rioni that the famed voyage of Jason and the Argonauts took place.
These huge bottom-feeding fish have a history in mythology as well. Native American tribes have legends about the sturgeon as a man-eating fish, which is not so far-fetched when the white sturgeon that live in rivers have been known to reach 8 feet in length.
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Sturgeon were once widespread in rivers across Europe, but have been decimated by a combination of habitat loss and degradation, and overfishing, due to their roe being harvested for centuries for caviar.
While it’s not clear whether these ship or Colchic sturgeon—which are long-lived and late-maturing fishes—are actively spawning in the Rinoni itself or a tributary upriver, it is clear the waters are providing a haven for these armor-plated fish, and the myth may live on in Europe, thanks to enduring protections.
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