A majestic male beluga sturgeon, in the prime of his life, and possibly one of the last remaining of his species in the Danube, lost his life last week after falling victim to illegal fishing.

Experts from WWF-Bulgaria and Directorate of Nature Park "Persina" tried to save a large beluga caught illegally in the Danube near the town of Svishtov. “We did everything we could to save the sturgeon, but to our great regret, we lost another critically endangered sturgeon”, shared Stoyan Mihov, Freshwater Program Manager at WWF-Bulgaria.

The sturgeon was an impressive male over 2 meters long and probably between 20-30 years old. Adult sturgeons like this one are extremely strong animals. But the injuries the fish had sustained after being caught were too serious and incompatible with life.

In autumn, belugas, especially large males like this one, often enter the Danube to overwinter in the river, waiting for early spring near the breeding grounds. However, in the river, these huge fish are very vulnerable to poaching. This case is another proof of that.

As WWF shares in their lastest report, poaching is still highly prevalent in the region and greatly reduces the natural reproduction opportunities of the few remaining wild sturgeon fish.

On behalf of WWF-Bulgaria, we express our gratitude to the officers of the Border Police Department - Svishtov, working on the case, for their professional attitude and for doing everything in their power in our attempts to save the fish.