UN-backed body lowers export quotas for caviar

Combined export quotas of Caspian Sea caviar for 2007 have been set 15 per cent lower than for 2005, the last year such quotas were published, as long-term efforts continue to reverse the impact of decades of over-fishing, the United Nations-backed body overseeing a global treaty governing trade in endangered species announced today.

Export quotas for caviar from Persian and stellate sturgeon from the five Caspian countries – Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan – have been reduced by over 25 per cent, while that from Russian sturgeon has risen by 23 per cent.

It has not been possible to publish quotas for beluga, the world’s most valuable caviar, because the information provided by the five states is not yet complete, and the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has given them an extra month to provide the missing data about the sustainability of their sturgeon catch.

Last year, CITES did not publish any quotas because the states did not provide sufficient information.

“Ensuring that sturgeon stocks recover to safe levels will take decades of careful fisheries management and an unrelenting struggle against poaching and illegal trade,” CITES Secretary-General Willem Wijnstekers said. “The income earned from the sale of sturgeon products in 2007 should provide both an incentive and the means to pursue the long-term recovery of this commercially and ecologically valuable natural resource.”

As caviar stocks continued to decline through the 1990s, the Parties to CITES decided to place all sturgeon species that remained unlisted on a special appendix to ensure that all exports of caviar and other sturgeon products comply with strict treaty provisions, including the use of permits and specific labelling requirements.

In 2001, CITES responded to high levels of poaching and illegal trade with a temporary ban. Extensive discussions and stronger actions by the five states were required before the annual quotas could be agreed for 2002 to 2005. With the agreement of these States, the rules on how to set quotas under CITES have become increasingly rigorous.

To have proposed quotas published, countries with shared sturgeon stocks must agree on catch and export quotas based on scientific surveys of stocks. They must also adopt a regional conservation strategy, combat illegal fishing and demonstrate that their proposed catch and export quotas reflect current population trends and are sustainable.

But importing countries also have to play their part. “They must ensure that all imports are from legal sources, and they must establish registration systems for their domestic processing and repackaging plants and rules for the labelling of repackaged caviar,” Mr. Wijnstekers said.