The 10th International Symposium on Sturgeons (ISS 10) Will Be Held in Yichang This October

You might not know sturgeons yet, but you should know about them as well as about caviar, world-renowned luxury product. It is mature eggs of sturgeons, rendering sturgeons some of the most highly valued targets of global fisheries capture and aquaculture efforts. Historically, sturgeon resources have been abundant and were once a key fisheries resource in the major rivers of the Northern Hemisphere. However, overfishing for caviar, habitat degradation, and climate change have led to a continuous decline in populations of all sturgeon species since approximately fifty years ago.

Sturgeons represent an evolutionary blind branch of the tree of life among fishes, comprising one fossil family and two extant families. The fossil family is Peipiaosteidae, while the extant ones are Acipenseridae and Polyodontidae (Paddlefish). All sturgeon fossils and extant species are distributed exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. Initially, there were 27 living sturgeon species. However, with the Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) having been officially declared extinct in 2003; only 26 species of sturgeons are remaining. To prevent further damage to wild populations through fisheries and international trade, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has listed all extant sturgeon species in its appendices, requiring documented proof of legal origin for all international trade.

ISS is the abbreviation of the International Symposium on Sturgeons, which is a scientific forum dedicated to the conservation and sustainable aquaculture of sturgeon species worldwide. It was in 1980 that a group of experts and scholars specializing in sturgeon research, conservation, and aquaculture, convened the first Symposium in Bordeaux, France with more than 100 participants in attendance. Ever since then the ISS has been held every four years.

To date, eight ISSs have taken place. These are ISS 1 in 1989 in Bordeaux, France as described above; ISS 2 in 1993 in Moscow, Russia; ISS 3 in 1997 in Piacenza, Italy; ISS 4 in 2001 in Oshkosh, USA; ISS 5 in 2005 in Ramsar, Iran; ISS 6 in 2009 in Wuhan, China; ISS 7 in 2013 in Nanaimo, Canada; and ISS 8 in 2017 in Vienna, Austria. Unfortunately, the ISS 9, which was initially scheduled for 2019 at Qiandao Lake, China, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the cancellation of the ISS 9, China continued to apply for hosting ISS 10 and succeeded, marking the return of this significant international event to China. Preparations for the upcoming conference are currently underway. Readers are encouraged to visit the official website (http://iss10.whu.edu.cn, accessed on 5 August 2025) for details on registration, program updates, and other important information [1].

During ISS 3, some participants proposed that the ISS should have a permanent “home” to ensure facilitation of international exchange, initiating the organization of a relevant scientific society. During ISS 4, a Foundation Committee with thirteen members, comprising Paolo Bronzi, Italy; Ron Bruch, USA; Jianbo Chang, China; Mikhail Chebanov, Russia; Sergej Doroshov, USA; Jörn Gessner, Germany; Frank Kirschbaum, Germany; Mohammad Pourkazemi, Iran; Harald Rosenthal, Germany; Georgi Ruban, Russia; Rajmund Trzebiatowski, Poland; and Patrick Williot, France, was established to prepare the foundation of this society.

After two years of preparation, the World Sturgeon Conservation Society (WSCS) was formally registered in Hamburg, Germany, in 2003. The Society aims to serve as an international forum for scientific discussion, catering to all those interested in pertinent issues related to sturgeons, while also seeking opportunities for close international cooperation. Hence, the ISS has been a vital platform for scientific and technological communication within WSCS. Since then, the WSCS board of directors has had the authority to select the host country of ISS. A SAC, recommended by the local committee of the host country and the WSCS board of directors, remains in charge of organizing the conference.

The ISS 10 will be held on the theme of “Ensuring a shared future for humans and sturgeons”. It comprises five parts, including plenary speech, parallel sessions, special workshops, posters, and technical tours. A trade show featuring research equipment and aquaculture will also be on display. The preliminary five parallel sessions are titled “General Biology and Ecology of Aciperseriformes”, “Global Climate Change and Species Survival”, “Human Impacts & Mitigations”, “Applied Research & Aquaculture”, and “Caviar Production”, respectively.

At a regular meeting of the ISS10 SAC held earlier this year, all members unanimously decided that Hydroecology and Engineering (HEE) would publish the proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Sturgeons (ISS 10 Proceedings). The conservation and sustainable use of sturgeon resources is crucial for ecological and biodiversity conservation, as well as for sustainable human development. The convening of ISS10 will not only provide valuable insights and experience for the global conservation of sturgeon species and the development of aquaculture but also help chart a clear direction for future actions.

HEE serves as an academic platform for multidisciplinary discussions on the interaction between ecosystem processes and human engineering interventions, with the goal of promoting ecological sustainability and resilience [2]. As part of this mission, the Special Issue “Selected Papers from the 10th International Symposium on Sturgeons (ISS10)” will feature peer-reviewed research across five thematic areas—from sturgeon biology and climate impacts to conservation strategies and sustainable aquaculture—to support global efforts in research, conservation, and the sustainable utilization of sturgeon species.

We believe that the partnership between HEE and ISS10 will accelerate scientific progress and offer strategic guidance for global sturgeon conservation and sustainable aquaculture in the decades to come. We are confident that this collaboration will be highly fruitful.

In line with this mission, Hydroecology and Engineering (HEE) warmly welcomes submissions of research articles and reviews, communications, perspectives, and commentaries related to hydroecology, ecohydraulics, aquatic ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable engineering practices. Detailed submission guidelines are available on the journal’s website (https://www.sciepublish.com/journals/hee, accessed on 5 August 2025), and manuscripts can be submitted directly through the online submission system. We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions to further advance this interdisciplinary field.

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.