"Not Extinct After All, Restoration Urged"... 'Royal Fish' Sturgeon Found in Ireland After 40 Years

1.8 Meters Long... Discovered Off the Southern Coast of Ireland
First Sighting in Over 40 Years Since 1987

In Ireland, a sturgeon once believed to be extinct has reappeared for the first time in over 40 years.

A sturgeon caught in the waters near Valencia Island, County Kerry, Ireland. Photo by Irish Independent

According to a recent report by the Irish Post, a sturgeon, which was once presented to the British royal family and called the "royal fish," was recently caught in the waters near Valencia Island in County Kerry, Ireland, this July.

This fish, measuring up to 1.8 meters in length, was caught by Captain Declan O'Sullivan, who commands the trawler "Trinity," based in the southern village of Portmagee on Valencia Island.

O'Sullivan, suspecting that he had found an unusual fish, sent a photo to Kevin Flannery, the director of Dingle Oceanworld Aquarium and a marine biologist.

Upon seeing the photo, Flannery told the Irish Independent in an interview, "I was truly shocked and almost fell over. I never imagined I would see this 'living fossil,' which has survived since the age of dinosaurs, in Irish waters again. This fish was considered extinct here."

Flannery immediately advised that the sturgeon be released back into the sea, and O'Sullivan complied.

O'Sullivan also reported that he saw another sturgeon swimming beyond the net.

Caviar. Pexels

This is the first sighting of a sturgeon since one was discovered in 1987 near the Kish Lighthouse off the coast of Dublin, Ireland. Until the 1970s, sturgeon were common in Irish waters, but they disappeared due to overfishing for high-priced caviar.

The sturgeon is one of the oldest fish species, having existed for 100 million years. It can grow over 2 meters long, spends most of its life in the sea, and returns to rivers to spawn.

In the past, sturgeon caught in Ireland were considered property of the British royal family and were either presented to British royalty such as Queen Victoria or served to distinguished guests at Dublin's famous restaurant, Whites on the Green.

The Shannon and Suir rivers in Ireland provide ideal conditions for sturgeon breeding, raising the possibility of restoration. Following this discovery, the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) and the Blue Marine Foundation are calling for the launch of a sturgeon restoration project.

Padraic Fogarty of the IWT emphasized, "We desperately need efforts to restore species that have disappeared from Ireland. Sturgeon should be a top conservation priority. Restoring their habitats will have positive effects on many other species as well."

The United Kingdom recently published the "Sturgeon Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (2023-2033)," aiming to restore sturgeon populations across Europe. There is growing support for Ireland to join this initiative. Adrian Gahan of the Blue Marine Foundation stated, "Nature knows no borders, and neither should conservation efforts. This discovery shows that, with cooperation and determination, even lost species can return."