Once roaming the UK’s coastal, estuarine and freshwater habitats in abundance, sturgeons have been a celebrated species in British culture – so much so that King Edward II declared them a Royal Fish and made it that any sturgeon caught and brought ashore had to be offered to the Crown.

Today, however, a multitude of pressures have enlisted sturgeons as the most Critically Endangered group of animals on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List. At the same time, the fish that has been around since dinosaurs roamed the Earth, easily recognised by its diamond-shaped armoured plates and whisker-like barbels, has become one of the UK’s rarest species.

According to the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the species is “now at risk of being completely wiped out unless urgent conservation action is taken.”

To combat this harrowing trend, the ZSL, in partnership with Natural England, has introduced a first-of-its-kind interactive map of historic sightings of sturgeon in the UK to inspire support for conservation efforts. While allowing the public to learn more about this fascinating species by exploring over 400 years of historical sturgeon records, the map will also help conservationists to identify previous hotspots for the species to foster and direct future conservation and restoration efforts.

As an example, the map has already provided new insight of how sturgeons once spawned in UK rivers, and “highlights the Severn and Humber catchments as historic hotspots and key areas to investigate the feasibility of conservation actions.” 

Steve Coughlan from the Institute of Fisheries Management explained: “These species have been gone so long from British shores that their folklore has almost been lost to us. This new mapping tool brings that history back to life just as this iconic migrator begins to reappear in our coastal waters, thanks to the efforts of continental restoration schemes.

“This tool provides patterns of distribution which help guide the way forwards for sturgeon conservation in our country. Sadly, it also contains evidence of the persecution of these fish in our rivers, driven by ignorance and fear. Education is vital now as we and sturgeon move forwards together.” 

The map has been brought to life as part of the UK Sturgeon Alliance, a collaborative team of scientists and conservationists from ZSL, Blue Marine Foundation, Institute of Fisheries Management, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Severn Rivers Trust, and Nature at Work. The group seeks to reintroduce the species to UK waters.

In 2023, the Alliance has launched the UK Sturgeon Conservation Strategy and Action Plan, a science-backed guide that outlines the action required to recover numbers of Atlantic and Critically Endangered European sturgeons. The five goals for sturgeon recovery, set out in the plan, are essential habitat restoration and protection, population recovery, bycatch reduction, stakeholder engagement, and closing evidence gaps.

The UK is home to two native sturgeon species, the Atlantic and the European sturgeon, both of which spend the majority of their lives in coastal and marine areas looking for food, while migrating into freshwater to spawn. Both of these species can reach lengths of up to 5m and can live for over 60 years.

Following decades of habitat degradation and overfishing, sturgeon practically disappeared from Europe in the 20^th century. In recent years, successful reintroduction programmes of the species in Germany and France have resulted in increased UK sightings.

According to the ZSL, “as a fully migratory species that lives in rivers, estuaries and coastal habitats, conservation actions such as improving water quality and removing barriers to migratory routes will benefit both sturgeon and all other species that call these home.” 

Hannah McCormick, ZSL’s Conservation Project Manager for Estuaries and Wetlands, who led the map’s creation, explained: “Although they were once found in almost every river across the UK, sturgeon are now sadly missing from our waters and coastlines. 

“Growing up to 5 metres in length, their impressive size means that despite feeding on small fish and invertebrates living along sea and riverbeds, sturgeon have commonly been misunderstood as ‘river monsters’. Our work to make the UK a suitable home for sturgeon once more relies on public and government support, so alongside developing a solid, evidence-based approach to recover sturgeon, we’re launching this map publicly to celebrate their history and inspire everyone to support the conservation of these impressive animals.”  

Watch the full interview with ZSL’s Hannah McCormick about the launch of the interactive map here:

The UK Sturgeon Map can be accessed here. Any sturgeon sightings in the UK should be reported to the Save the Sturgeon website. 

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