Vienna opens floating breeding station for threatened sturgeons!

Vienna opens floating breeding station for threatened sturgeons!

Wien, Österreich - On April 10, 2025, MS Negrelli will be opened as Europe's first floating breeding station for sturgeons in Vienna. This innovative project is part of the EU project LIFE-BOAT4STURGEON and has set itself the goal of raising around 1.6 million young distortions by 2030, which will then be released into the Danube. The focus is on protecting the last four disturbance types in the river system, which also includes the highly endangered sterlet. The MS Negrelli is anchored at the new pier of the city of Vienna on the Danube Island and was converted from a transport ship of the Viadonau.

The breeding station should not only support the preservation of biological diversity in the Danube room, but also represents an important step for nature conservation. Water Minister Norbert Tettschnig emphasizes the importance of the project and invests around one million euros. Vienna City Councilor Peter Hanke also emphasizes the need for the protection of endangered species. In the past, 240,000 deaths have already been successfully raised in a previous project, as city councilor Ulli Sima mentioned.

Technical details of the MS Negrelli

The MS Negrelli is equipped with 35 rearing pool, including a mother fish pool with a volume of 110 m³. About 35 liters of Danube water are pumped through the system per second, and a total of 350 meters of pipes have been laid. From summer 2025, guided tours through the rearing station are to be offered to raise awareness of nature conservation and to make the project better known. The entire financing amounts to 11.8 million euros, of which 67% are funded by the EU program Life.

EU framework for aquaculture

The new project in Vienna is part of a broader EU-committed framework in aquaculture, in which the European Commission supports not only through strategic guidelines, but also through funding such as the European Sea and Fishing Funds. These guidelines aim to develop sustainable aquaculture in order to produce healthy foods and at the same time protect the environment and create economic opportunities. Specific rules protect aquatic habitats from non -domestic species, and the social acceptance of the aquaculture practices is also considered important.

Experts and representatives of the sector work together under the Aquaculture Consulting Bath to share proven practices and develop sustainable strategies. The European Commission has an active role in supporting the Member States in the development of specific national strategies for aquaculture, the MS Negrelli project also benefits from this.