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Sofia, 1 May 2011. In order to protect endangered sturgeon species, Bulgaria decided to ban sturgeon fishing in May 2011. Romania was the first country to implement a sturgeon fishing ban in the Danube in 2006 and is now followed by its southern neighbour.

The Danube River is seeing an influx of new non-native species, stemming from the increasing interconnections with various European and global water bodies via canals and other waterways designed to facilitate navigation. It is currently believed that alien species are very likely to become even more significant in the future, as the importance of the Danube as an international waterway increases.

The Danube River Protection Convention forms the overall legal instrument for co-operation on transboundary water management in the Danube River Basin. The Convention was signed on June 29 1994 in Sofia (Bulgaria) and came into force in 1998. It aims to ensure that surface waters and groundwater within the Danube River Basin are managed and used sustainably and equitably.

The territory of Bulgaria is 110,912 km². The country is characterized by a rich diversity in morphological, geological, geomorphological, hydro-climatic and soil-biogenic aspects.