17 Oct 2025
The return of the sturgeon
Universeum and Sportfiskarna are working together to make a comeback to the waters of Gothenburg, and seven sturgeon have recently found a new home in Universeum's aquariums in Vildmarken. There they will now grow before it is time to be released into the Göta River for a continued life in the wild. The process is part of a project initiated by the interest organization Sportfiskarna, with the ultimate goal of returning the Atlantic sturgeon to our waterways in Gothenburg.
In the beginning there were the Atlantic sturgeon.
The Atlantic sturgeon originated in Canada but came to Swedish waters around 7000 (!) years ago. By the early 1900s, the Atlantic sturgeon was completely extinct from European waters.
Around the turn of the millennium, a German university began an effort to reintroduce the Atlantic sturgeon to Europe. After extensive paperwork, about 40 sturgeon were finally transported from the St. Johns River in Canada to a specially adapted aquaculture facility in Rostock, where the researchers managed to establish a reproduction of the species. Poland, Latvia and Lithuania followed shortly after, and about three years ago, the interest organization Sportfiskarna, with project manager Linnea Jägrud at the forefront, began work to try to get the sturgeon back to Sweden. Newly hatched sturgeon were taken from the university in Germany to a newly built container in Gothenburg to grow, before they were to be released into the wild.
STÖREN + GOTHENBURG = true.
One of the most important arguments for being able to reintroduce the Atlantic sturgeon in Sweden and more specifically Gothenburg has been the evidence that the species previously spawned in Swedish waters. The Gothenburg Museum of Natural History has played a crucial role here, as the museum has preserved juvenile Atlantic sturgeon from the 1800s in its collection – proving that the species once reproduced in the Göta River. In this way, you can be sure that the disturbers have in the past and will also thrive in the environment in the future. Something that was crucial in getting permission to begin the reintroduction, a process that is completely unique: getting a species back in this way has not happened for over a hundred years.
On site in the lake.
After a long and sometimes motley process, during which the Anglers themselves had to solve the financing with the help of private donations, the green light was given to the project in January 2024. In June of the same year, the first release of 92 young sturgeon was carried out in the Göta River. When the next batch of sturgeon was to be introduced to Gothenburg's waters, Universeum came into the project: it has an environment that is perfect for the sturgeon's life cycle with sweet, brackish and salty water in one and the same building. The seven sturgeon, which were of varying sizes but had in common that they were at the beginning of their lives, were first quarantined for just over five weeks before they were released into Universeum's aquarium, which goes by the name Sjön – where they will now coexist with roach, bream, rudah and perch.
A nice collaboration.
Linnea Jägrud was there and had the honor of releasing the first of the fish. She hopes that Sportfiskarna's and Universeum's collaboration within the sturgeon project will continue:
"It has been a very good collaboration that I would very much like to see continue, more or less in the same way. Partly because it helps the project, but also because together we can tell the story of the disturbers. It's only in Gothenburg that these juvenile fish are found – there is an exceptionally clear connection to this particular city," she says.
Just on loan.
But considering how big the Atlantic sturgeon eventually becomes – up to five meters long and 450 kilograms heavy – they are only in the house on loan for a short time. When they have grown to the right size, they leave Vildmarken to be released into the Göta River. From there, they make their way out into the sea, when they feel ready. Considering that sturgeon can live up to 130 years, they will at best remain for many, many years.