Blowing up of Kakhovka HPP: the only state-run sturgeon breeding plant completely flooded

As a result of the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP, the only state-run sturgeon farm in Ukraine, the Experimental Dnipro Sturgeon Fish Breeding Plant, has been flooded.

Source: press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy

Details: This is a direct threat to the further reproduction of sturgeon populations, which may lead to the disappearance of these relict species in Ukraine's water bodies.

"Each year, the plant housed more than 1.5 million sturgeon juveniles. Currently, the scale of the destruction and the extent of the damage are being ascertained.

Considering the special protection status of sturgeon species, the destruction of the sturgeon farm will have extremely negative consequences for the environment of Ukraine and the countries of the Black Sea basin," the ministry emphasised.

The Experimental Dnipro Sturgeon Fish Breeding Plant is located in the village of Dniprovske, Bilozerka district, Kherson Oblast.

"It has worked since 1984 and compensated for the reproduction of sturgeon species in Ukraine, which lost the opportunity of natural reproduction due to the regulation of the Dnipro [river] by a cascade of reservoirs," the message says.

Losses to the fishing industry from the death of adults alone could reach 95,000 tonnes, or about 4 billion hryvnias [approximately US$108,000]. In total, according to preliminary estimates, losses from the death of all biological resources will amount to up to 10.5 billion hryvnias [about US$283,000].

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