The Adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii), endemic of the northern Adriatic Sea and its main tributaries, is the only one still surviving of the three sturgeon species once living sympatrically in Italy. The other two formerly present species were the common sturgeon (A. sturio), distributed also along all the Italian coasts and the Beluga, (Huso huso).
The survival of the Adriatic sturgeon has been possible thanks to a variety of conservation actions conducted in the last almost 35 years by different public and private entities, but, most importantly, were possible only thanks to the efforts of a private trout farmer who, anticipating the extinction of this species, collected and maintained in his fish farm about 90 animals of wild origin caught in the Po and other northern rivers of the Padana Valley. From this stock, since 1988 hundreds of thousands of animals have been produced through controlled ex situ reproduction and were mostly released in the wild and in part retained as future breeders.
The different conservation activities carried out in Italy have been crucial for the preservation of the species, in spite of the lack of global coordination that led to a suboptimal management of the residual population at different levels: i) choice of individuals to reproduce to maximize genetic diversity, ii) establishment of training and releasing protocols to maximize the fitness for survival of the reintroduced animals, iii) organization of an effective and coordinated monitoring activity.
The present report will trace the whole history of the conservation of the Adriatic sturgeon in Italy, combining the main actions carried out into a single picture, from the beginning until the recent findings of some mature female and fingerlings and juveniles in some rivers, most probably the results of some natural reproductions. Furthermore, a huge and ambitious project for the establishment of a center for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity of the Padana Valley, presently in progress, will be presented.