LIFE-Boat4Sturgeon: Floating Rearing Station for Sturgeons Opened on the Vienna Danube

The MS Negrelli, which was previously used as a stone transport ship for the waterway operator viadonau, will now function as the LIFE-Boat4Sturgeon. This floating breeding station, the only one of its kind in Europe, is intended to contribute to the preservation of the last four sturgeon species of the Danube, as stated in a press release. The goal is to protect the sturgeons, which have existed for 200 million years.

35 Breeding Tanks for Sturgeons on Ship in the Vienna Danube

The EU project is led by the University of BOKU with partners including the Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BMLUK), the City of Vienna, and viadonau. The total project volume amounts to 11.8 million euros, of which 67 percent is covered by the EU LIFE program. The ship is stationed at a new docking point of the City of Vienna on the Danube Island. The 66-meter-long and ten-meter-wide LIFE-Boat4Sturgeon houses 35 breeding tanks - a large mother fish tank with 110 cubic meters, twelve round tanks, and 22 long flow channels. 350 meters of piping are laid for aquaculture, and 35 liters of Danube water are pumped through the breeding system per second. From summer, interested parties can experience the project through guided tours.

Breeding Station for Sturgeons to Preserve Habitat in Vienna Danube

"By 2030, around 1.6 million young fish are to be raised and subsequently released in different sections of the Danube. I am particularly pleased that the floating breeding station allows the project to be conveyed up close to the public, especially to students," said Environment and Water Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP). "Habitat, energy source, waterway, and natural paradise - the Danube is of inestimable value to all of us. Our common goal is to preserve and protect this unique habitat. This requires our determined action, especially when animal species are threatened with extinction," emphasized Infrastructure Minister Peter Hanke (SPÖ). "Once extinct, species are lost forever - all the more reason we are pleased to take on the scientific leadership of the LIFE-Boat4Sturgeon project," said BOKU Rector Eva Schulev-Steindl.

(APA/Red)

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