According to the World Wide Fund (WWF) Romania and Bulgaria have the largest populations of wild Danube sturgeon in the EU and are the prime exporters of caviar of the species. Romania has placed a fishing ban on the species through 2015 because of endangerment due to illegal use. The breeding farm which aims to repopulate the Danube originally began 10 years ago, initiated by the Romanian agriculture ministry but lost funding. After expansion and reopening in October, the breeding farm, funded by the EU, will reach a capacity of 500,000 fry.
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