Geneva, 12 June 2001 – Officials from Caspian Sea states are meeting here with international agencies from 12 –13 June to discuss the development of a regional management plan for restoring sturgeon populations to safe levels.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will consider measures to restrict the caviar trade of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan at a meeting next week in Paris (19 – 22 June). Iran, which is also attending today’s discussions, is not facing restrictions because its management system for sturgeon is relatively effective.

“Caviar-producing sturgeon are one of the world’s most valuable wildlife resources, and it is vital to the people of the Caspian Sea region that they be managed sustainably for the benefit of generations to come,” said Executive Director Klaus Toepfer of the United Nations Environment Programme, which is taking the lead in organizing the meeting.

The national officials will consider “action proposals” put forward by UNEP and its partners. The key proposal is to complete negotiations for a regional agreement on shared fish resources, including sturgeon. This week’s meeting is intended to increase momentum towards an agreement. It is also exploring how to obtain resources for developing the Caspian Sea’s full sturgeon potential and assisting the communities that depend on sturgeon for their livelihood.

Until 1991, two countries – the USSR and Iran – virtually controlled the caviar market, investing heavily in controlling and maintaining fish stocks. This made it easy to trace the source of any given shipment of caviar. With the demise of the USSR, the system collapsed, and many entrepreneurs dealing in “black gold” sprang up to replace the state-owned companies.

According to TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring programme of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and IUCN-The World Conservation Union, the Caspian Sea sturgeon catch has plummeted from 22,000 tons in the late 1970s to 1,100 tons in the late 1990s. Reduced river flow, the destruction of spawning sites, corruption, poaching, organized crime and illicit trade have all contributed to the decline. One result is that the illegal catch in the four former Soviet Republics is now 10 or 12 times higher than the legal take.

Recognizing the crisis, the 1997 meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES listed all species of sturgeon on CITES’ Appendix II, effective 1 April 1998. This listing means that all caviar exports must now comply with strict CITES provisions, including the use of permits and specific labelling requirements. To obtain the necessary permits for export, it must be shown that trade is not detrimental to the long-term survival of the species.

In April 2000, the COP strengthened the controls on sturgeon by adopting a universal labelling system for caviar exports. It also required all range States to coordinate their annual export and catch quotas for 2001. The issue of sturgeon was also added to CITES’ ongoing Review of Significant Trade process.

In December, the CITES Animals Committee considered the results of the Review. Its recommendations, sent to the Range states in February 2001, called on Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan to substantially reduce their requested 2001 quotas for sturgeon catch and caviar exports. The current caviar export quotas are 790 kg for Azerbaijan, 32,210 kg for Kazakhstan (of which 1,410 kg are allocated to Azerbaijan and 3,890 to Turkmenistan), and 62,040 kg for Russia (of which are 2,300 allocated to Azerbaijan and 1,700 to Turkmenistan). Iran’s agreed caviar quota is 82,810 kg.

The Committee also called on the governments to institute a number of reforms, including carrying out science-based assessments of sturgeon population levels (with support from FAO) to ensure that catch and export quotas are scientifically valid, strengthening their controls over domestic trade in sturgeon, and improving their enforcement, licensing, identification, labelling and hatchery-production and -control systems.

The Committee further recommended that all exports be banned until the governments report satisfactorily on these recommendations. Once this is done, exports could proceed but with the quotas reduced, in most cases by 80%. A decision will be taken by the CITES Standing Committee (which acts as in interim authority between COP meetings) next week in Paris. The Secretariat has proposed a deadline for action by the Caspian Sea governments of 20 July. The Range States oppose further quota cuts.

In addition to the Caspian States, CITES is pressing Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine to reduce or ban exports until they improve their own monitoring and trade systems.

Due to the CITES Appendix II listing and related measures, illegal caviar exports to Europe have dropped dramatically. However, the domestic market in the range States remains an important outlet for illegal catches. This means that trade controls are not enough to ensure the sturgeon’s long-term survival. International support for stronger fisheries management in the Caspian Sea must be a vital part of any solution to the sturgeon crisis.

Note to journalists: For further information please contact Michael Williams at +41-22-9178242/244/196, +41-79-4091528 (cell) or michael.williams@unep.ch. Official documents are available at www.cites.org. See in particular Standing Committee 45 Document 12 and Notification 2001/005 Annex 1.