Trade limits mulled for scarce Caspian Sea caviar

Giant beluga sturgeon, like the one being processed here. are on the verge of extinction

By Gary Strieker
CNN Environmental Correspondent

BABOL SAR, Iran (CNN) -- Governments supporting the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) treaty will decide in Paris this week whether to impose export restrictions on Caspian Sea caviar. Conservationists say the limits are necessary to protect endangered sturgeon from being depleted by nations bordering the sea.

In Iran, for example, searching for the dwindling supply of Caspian sturgeon has become a frustrating occupation. Fishermen stretch their nets for 4 miles (6 km) and haul it in twice a day.

There is little to show for the backbreaking work. Many of the fish weigh less than 22 pounds (10 kg), which are too small to keep.

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Fisherman Osaini Ali said three years ago he brought in 2,600 pounds (1,200 kg) of caviar. But so far this year, his catch is not even 220 pounds (100 kg). And he doesn't know why.

In all five countries bordering the Caspian, fishermen tell the same story. Catches have fallen drastically for all native species of Caspian sturgeon, which supplies more than 90 percent of the world's caviar, the sturgeon's unfertilized eggs.

Legal production of caviar in the Caspian basin is now less than 1,000 tons. It was more than 20 times that only two decades ago.

And the source of the most prized caviar, the giant beluga sturgeon, is now so rare it's on the verge of extinction. The dire situation is caused by excessive fishing and reckless environmental destruction, according to scientists.

Here in the south, Iran has a good record of enforcing fishing limits, but outside Iranian waters to the north, excessive fishing and widespread poaching are causing an ecological disaster that affects all the living resources of the Caspian sea.

Conservationists want limits on Caspian Sea caviar to protect sturgeons

Outside Iran, illegal fishing and caviar sales are estimated at $1 billion dollars a year, more than 10 times the total for official legal sales.

In Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, authorities seem unable or unwilling to stop the uncontrolled plundering of sturgeon by poachers and criminal gangs.

Meanwhile, industrial and pesticide pollution has destroyed spawning grounds for the fish and contaminated vast areas of the sea. New offshore oil and gas discoveries will bring more drilling, and more risk of pollution, a grim future for fishermen here.

One skipper looks at his daily catch, two small sturgeon, maybe 4.4 pounds (2 kg) of caviar. He said he remembers filling his boat with sturgeon every day. Now this is a good day. On many days, he catches nothing.