Bottom-feeder fish make comeback

Published on 19 June 2009 at 09:32

Sturgeon have not been seen in the Baltic since the early 1900s. Overfishing and pollution — the Baltic is one of the world's most polluted seas — drove the bottom feeding fish from Swedish and Danish waters. However, accounts of catches from fishermen in both these countries have led Le Monde to announce that "the sturgeon is back." The reappearance is due to the experimental release of sturgeon by Russian and Polish laboratories. For the French daily, "there is more than meets the eye in these attempts to reintroduce sturgeon," and it further speculates that "something is up in the Baltic Sea." On June 10, the European commission presented a new Baltic Sea strategy, which features a range of measures to clean up the Baltic, including limiting the use of phosphates and cleaning products. Sweden, which will take over the European Presidency on July 1, has made the strategy one of its main priorities.

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