The Best Combat project combines biology, sociology and tourism with the aim of conserving the Danube beluga sturgeon by supporting and educating local communities to develop new livelihoods, focussing on community based tourism, as an alternative to the unsustainable fishing of the endangered beluga.
25/06/2010
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The beluga sturgeon is the world’s largest freshwater fish; historically growing up to 6m long and reaching ages of over 100 years old. This living dinosaur produces the most prized caviar in the world fetching prices of $1000 for only 100g. Primarily for this reason the beluga is now endangered and in the Danube, its last remaining stronghold in Europe, it has declined to numbers only a tenth of those 50 years ago.
Encouraging sustainable development
Fishing of sturgeons for commercial purposes was banned in Romania in 2006 for a period of ten years. For many of the local communities along the Danube River and especially in Danube Delta the sturgeon fish resources have been a cornerstone for their economies. The Best Combat project aims to encourage sustainable development away from sturgeon harvesting and towards community-based tourism, so that local communities may still benefit from sturgeon without causing the populations to diminish further.
The Best Combat project is supported by a grant from Norway, through the Norwegian Cooperation Programme for Economic Growth and Sustainable Development in Romania and by the Romanian Ministry of the Environment and Forestry. The Project is co-ordinated by the Danube Delta Institute (DDNI) project partners include; the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Kaviar House, a Romanian sturgeon aquaculture company.
Currently in its second and final year, substantial progress has been made, with all three aspects of the project working together to build a sustainable future for both the beluga and the Danube inhabitants dependent on this charismatic fish.
Godspeed: Ambassador Øystein Hovdkinn and NIVA researcher Carolyn Knight with a recently satellite-tagged sturgeon good luck. Photo: DDNI and NIVAA
A summary of project highlights so far include:
• The first ever satellite tagging of adult beluga:
Satellite tags record the beluga’s previously unknown movements and provide the Best Combat biologists with the sturgeon’s migration path and trip “itinerary” as they return from spawning in the Danube to feed in the Black Sea. By recording sunset and sunrise it is possible to calculate the path and depth the fish takes, when this data is sent back via satellite.
• Stakeholder meetings held with local fishermen and authorities:
An important event to discuss the views of local fishermen and authorities with respect to the sturgeon fishing ban and the Best Combat project. As a result of these meetings, members of the Sfântu Gheorghe fishermen commune visited Norway in June and met salmon fishermen on the Namsos River and Mausund Island. The mayor of Sfântu Gheorghe, participated in the visit and will aim to establish a bilateral relation between the Municipalities of Frøya and Sfântu Gheorghe.
• Best Combat project grabs international media attention:
The story of the Danube beluga and the Best Combat project has been reported in 3 different languages (English, Romanian and Norwegian) on prime television and radio programmes, newspaper articles and websites. Best Combat scientists have also presented findings at an international sturgeon symposium and submitted articles for peer review.
• Launch of Caviar Road tourism trail:
The Caviar Road trail will take you on the journey of the beluga, along the Danube through the fascinating Romanian countryside. Visit a sturgeon hatchery, feel the sturgeon’s rough skin in a touch aquarium, enjoy a stopover at Sfântu Gheorghe a beautiful sturgeon fisherman’s village in the heart of the Danube delta and experience the Roman forts of Carsium and Noviodunum whose fallen ruins in the Danube are now used by sturgeon for spawning.
For further information on the Best Combat project including; aims, project partners latest news and visual Medias, please visit the project website; www.bestcombat.cc-intro.info.