The research station is situated in the ancient buildings of the «Imperial Pisciculture of Huningue» that was founded in the flood plain of the river Rhine in 1852. In those times, the fish farm produced fish for reintroduction into the streams of Europe and overseas. Today, the fish farm still breeds salmon for reintroduction into the Rhine. In the buildings of the pisciculture, there is also the administration of the nature reserve Petite Camargue Alsacienne that was founded in 1982. After an extension in 2006, the nature reserve now covers over 9 square kilometers.

To secure the buildings and previously unprotected areas, a cross-border conservation association was founded in 1988. At the same time, the Swiss group of participants established a private research association called «Swiss Association Pro Petite Camargue Alsacienne» (Pro PCA) whose first president was Dr. Hartmann P. Koechlin (1919–2018). This association used a donation by Dr. Koechlin to establish a research station that was affiliated with the University of Basel under the supervision of Prof. Heinz Durrer.

In 2015, Dr. Luc Hoffmann (1923–2016), who had written his first scientific publication about bird observations in the area of the Petite Camargue Alsacienne in 1941, created the position of a lecturer in ornithology and conservation biology at the zoological institute of the University of Basel – the institute where Luc Hoffmann had studied and earned a doctorate in 1952. The holder of this position, Prof. Valentin Amrhein, is also director of the Research Station Petite Camargue Alsacienne.

Since the beginning, our mission has been to conduct academic research and teaching, to help nature conservation management and monitoring of its success, to think about sustainability in science and conservation, and to communicate to a broader public.

The Swiss Association Pro Petite Camargue Alsacienne

President:
Tom Koechlin

Treasurer:
Dr. Andreas Sturm

Members:
Prof. Dr. Markus Affolter
Prof. Dr. Valentin Amrhein
Veronika Challand
Prof. Dr. Gerhard M. Christofori
Dr. Heinrich A. Vischer

Bank account:
Association Suisse Pro PCA
Credit Suisse, Basel
IBAN: CH89 0483 5157 8565 7100 0

Our work is supported by foundations and companies:

Basler Stiftung für biologische Forschung
Basler Stiftung für experimentelle Zoologie
BioConcept AG, Allschwil
Christoph Merian Stiftung
Eduard Batschelet-Mader Stiftung
Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft Basel
Frey-Clavel-Stiftung
Fondation de bienfaisance Jeanne Lovioz
MAVA Foundation
Nikolaus und Bertha Burckhardt-Bürgin-Stiftung
Nukahiva Foundation
Ornithologische Gesellschaft Basel
Singenberg-Stiftung
Stiftung Dreiklang
Stiftung Emilia Guggenheim-Schnurr
Stiftung Temperatio
Swisslos-Fonds Basel-Stadt
Swiss National Park
Swiss National Science Foundation
Swiss Ornithological Institute
Treubel-Fonds
Wolfermann-Nägeli-Stiftung
Zigerli Hegi Foundation