Conservation charity highlights 400 years of Britain’s royal fish

Conservation charity highlights 400 years of Britain’s royal fish - Zoological Society of London

A black and white photo taken in 1906 of a large sturgeon fish laying on it's back on a wooden cart with a man in a bowler hat stood behind — Royal sturgeon caught in Hundred-foot River at Oxlode, Pymoor, Cambridgeshire in 1906 (c) Blue Marine Foundation

Members of the public can dive into the past as our conservationists launch an interactive map bringing to life the history of Critically Endangered ‘dinosaur’ fish – as part of urgent work to protect the remaining few.

Launching today, the Sturgeon in the UK map allows users to step back in time and explore over 2,500 historical records of sturgeon in the UK in a bid to boost conservation efforts for the species.

Mapping 400 years of sturgeon history

Created by ZSL, which coordinates the UK Sturgeon Alliance, the map created in partnership with Natural England highlights historic hotspots for focusing modern conservation action, while also providing the public and policy makers the opportunity to explore over 400 years of sightings of this forgotten part of UK wildlife.

Hannah McCormick, ZSL’s Conservation Project Officer 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. Our work to make the UK a safe 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 to celebrate their history and inspire everyone to learn about these impressive animals. Growing up to 5m in length, these ancient fish are truly something to behold. They were around at the time of the dinosaurs and with their armoured plates and whisker-like barbels, they still closely resemble these ancient relatives from 100 million years ago. They were even declared ‘royal fish’ by King Edward II in the 14th century – sparking a tradition that still formally requires any sturgeon caught and brought ashore in the UK to be offered to the Crown, although nowadays it’s critical for fish to stay in the sea. Overfishing and habitat degradation have sadly led to these fish being a forgotten part of UK rivers and coasts, and we really want to encourage the public, fishers and policy makers to to dive in and see for themselves how sturgeon were once such a big part of the fabric of UK wildlife.”