The Sturgeon Jumping Invitational
Luke Myers

Luke Myers’s unique form of hybrid sports film could be seen as a light-hearted celebration of an ancient species. It is instead placed here, among pieces exploring the theme of planetary heating. One might think of the Sturgeon as a living fossil; yet warming waters are a very modern threat. Small changes in river and estuary temperature can scramble the narrow windows they use to migrate and spawn, so eggs and larvae – which tolerate only a very small temperature range – suffer big losses. Warmer water increases metabolic demand and lowers oxygen, disrupts the bottom-dwelling prey young sturgeon rely on, and raises disease risk – all of which reduce survival and push fish into less suitable habitats.

Many sturgeon populations are already small and have reduced genetic diversity after decades of over harvesting, damming and habitat loss; their ability to adapt quickly to rapid warming is greatly limited. That makes conservation harder – restoring habitat or restocking fish won’t succeed if rivers and nurseries continue to warm.

The film may be seen as a call for protecting cold-water flows, restoring estuaries and river connectivity, and supporting monitoring and climate-aware recovery so this ancient fish still has a future, and spectacles such as this continue to captivate. “The sight of a fish breaching, silvery body arching high in the air, before a dramatic crash back into the water, has captivated us across time and culture” Myers tells us. “Ancient theories held that fish leap due to parasites. Recent scientific research suggests sturgeon jump for communication, or air bladder adjustment. But no one knows for sure.”