Illegal fishing and wildlife crime remain among the greatest threats to migratory fish in the Lower Danube. Alongside habitat degradation, they continue to undermine the recovery of endangered species such as sturgeons, making effective protection measures essential.
Addressing these pressures is one of the priorities of Demo Site III within DANUBElifelines. Covering the shared Bulgarian-Romanian section of the Danube and the Danube Delta, the demo site focuses on strengthening cross-border cooperation to better protect migratory fish and their habitats.
The planned actions include harmonising fishing closure periods between Bulgaria and Romania, supporting the continuation of the sturgeon fishing ban in Bulgaria, improving the protection of key habitats, reducing sturgeon by-catch and poaching, and strengthening cooperation with fishing communities. The demo site also works to improve the capacity of enforcement and judicial authorities to address wildlife crime more effectively and to develop joint recommendations for fisheries and conservation management.
These efforts are reinforced by the newly published WWF report, In the Net of Poachers: Ten Years of Documented Wildlife Crime Targeting Sturgeons in the Lower Danube Region (2016–2025).
Based on a decade of officially documented cases from Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine, the report highlights the continued impact of poaching and illegal trade on Europe's most endangered fish. It documents confiscated sturgeons, illegal caviar and prohibited fishing gear, while underlining the need for stronger cross-border cooperation, effective enforcement and continued action against wildlife crime.
The report's findings provide valuable evidence for the work carried out in Demo Site III. Better understanding the scale and patterns of illegal fishing helps inform conservation measures and supports more coordinated action across the Lower Danube.
Protecting migratory fish requires more than restoring habitats – it also means addressing the human pressures that threaten their survival. By combining practical conservation measures with stronger cooperation between countries, authorities and local communities, DANUBElifelines project is contributing to a safer future for migratory fish in the Lower Danube.
You want to find out more? Read In the Net of Poachers here
Header image: Acipenser sturio, © Hartmut Jungius, WWF
