The World Sturgeon Conservation Society (WSCS) published the RAMSAR DECLARATION ON GLOBAL STURGEON CONSERVATION in 2005 outlining the guiding principles for measures urgently needed to ensure the future of sturgeons. To meet the persisting and emerging challenges in sturgeon conservation, the 8th International Symposium on Sturgeons (ISS 8) held from September 10^th to 16^th, 2017 in Vienna with a participation of about 300 sturgeon specialists from 32 countries felt the need to re-iterate, update and partly revise the key recommendations affecting the effectiveness of conservation management while at the same time emphasizing the requirement to apply best practice when planning or implementing activities toprotect and preserve sturgeon species, account for the need for long-term and adequately-resourced sturgeon conservation measures, protect and restore rivers as dynamic, disturbance driven systems,  to effective control and combat fraud and illegal, unregulated and unrecorded catch and trade.

VD part 1 (Recommendations)

VD Part 2  (Recommendations and Justifications)