On June 26, an Adriatic sturgeon fingerling was sight, captured, photographed and released by an amateur fisherman in the stretch of the Po river between the Lambro and Trebbia tributaries, upstream of the Isola Serafini dam. Sightings of this type have already been reported in the past in a Po tributary, the Ticino river, but this is the first time in many years that an individual of such a small size has been found in the main stream of the Po. The Adriatic sturgeon generally reproduces in captivity in May-June and the size of the animal is thought to be at least 2 months of life after hatching. Not having been carried out restocking actions with subjects reproduced in captivity during this year, it is possible to suppose that a reproduction occurred in nature, and that this reproduction took place earlier than the usual period of the farmed species. This is not the only observation of sturgeons reproduction in nature, and reports of sturgeon spawning in the Ticino River were also made about a month ago.
We hope that this could mean that thanks to the conservation efforts carried out in recent decades, the Adriatic sturgeon is returning to reproduce in the Po.
