The sturgeon is back in the Biesbosch. 29 of those fish were released on Friday. The sturgeon became extinct in the Netherlands in 1952 due to overfishing, pollution and the construction of weirs and locks. “The animal belongs here and it is an enrichment for nature,” says researcher Niels Brevé.
Researcher Niels Brevé of Wageningen University will be monitoring the fish for the next four months. Special transmitters in their bellies and receivers on 80 buoys are used to examine how the young fish behave. “I hope that they will eat well in the coming months – get nice and fat, big and round – and then find their way to the North Sea. Via the transmitters we can then see which route they take.”
The intention is that the fish will then return to the Biesbosch and, when they are large enough, continue swimming via the Rhine to Germany, where their spawning area is. But that is a matter of a lot of patience because that can take years.
“I’m sure that a lot of people who – in 30 years – see such a sturgeon of four meters slide by will be amazed.”
Master Pieter van Vollenhoven was also present when the sturgeons were released. He, too, pleaded for patience in order for this attempt to succeed. “We are taught that everything has to be arranged tomorrow, but life doesn’t work that way. Not even in nature. To make this project a success, you need a long breath.”
Nearly 50 more small sturgeons will be released in the coming weeks. Brevé hopes that the fish settle and return. “And I’m sure that a lot of people – 30 years from now – will see a four-meter sturgeon slide past and their eyes will be amazed.”
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