The 8th International Symposium on Sturgeon

The International Symposia on Sturgeon (ISS) take place in a four-year cycle in varying countries in alternating regions with major importance for sturgeons and sturgeon biology. This series of symposia is governed by the World Sturgeon Con-servation Society (WSCS) aiming at the facilitation of exchange between experts worldwide working in conservation or aquaculture. Sturgeons were among the first species that suffered from the increasing industrialization and human population development in Europe. The series of ISSs revealed the involvement of an increasing number of experts dealing with this ancient group of fishes and the associated issues concerning their decline, recovery options and production. Increasingly, the conference has developed from the classical presentation of scientific results to a forum on management issues.

The upcoming venue in Vienna, Austria from September 10th to 16th, 2017 as an all-European effort to bring together the sturgeon experts worldwide to draw the international attention to the pressing issues of sturgeon conservation in a densely-populated region that reveals the most intense conflicts between economic de-velopment and nature conservation. Furthermore, the location draws the attention to the necessity of a transboundary approach since the Danube River - the last resort of functional sturgeon populations in Europe and the system shared by the largest number of countries worldwide - is highly threatened by the intensified economic development.