Caspian Countries Extended Moratorium on Commercial Fishing for Sturgeon
Moscow / 26.12.19 / Turan: Five Caspian littoral states agreed to extend the moratorium on the commercial catch of sturgeon species. The decision is enshrined in the protocol of the third meeting of the Commission for the Conservation and Rational Use of Aquatic Biological Resources of the Caspian Sea, which was held in Tehran from December 23 to 25. It was attended by delegations from Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, according to a press release from the Federal Agency for Fisheries of Russia.
According to the agenda of the meeting, the parties exchanged information on the development of catch quotas, reproduction and protection of aquatic biological resources for 2018, and reviewed the results of studies on the status of stocks.
Representatives of the Caspian littoral states agreed on recommendations on the volume of catch of aquatic biological resources for 2020 and extended the ban on commercial catch of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea.
The Commission for the Conservation and Rational Use of Aquatic Biological Resources of the Caspian Sea was established by the littoral countries in 2014.
Despite the prohibitions introduced, sturgeon poaching does not stop. Today, black caviar and sturgeon fish can be purchased in all markets of coastal countries. In particular, sturgeons are sold at a price of 50-60 AZN per kilogram in Baku, and black caviar is sold at 1,000-1,500 manats (depending on the quality and variety of fish).
The maximum sturgeon catches in the Caspian basin were recorded at the beginning of the 20th century - 39.4 thousand tons, and also at the end of the 1970s - 27.4 thousand tons. A sharp reduction in the number of sturgeons began in 1991. At present, the future stocks of these species of fish depend on the effectiveness of measures to ensure natural and artificial reproduction, as well as on combating illegal fishing in the Caspian basin and trade in poaching products.
Russia has banned the industrial catch of beluga in the Volga-Caspian basin since 2000, and sturgeon and stellate sturgeon since 2005. A moratorium on industrial sturgeon fishing has been introduced in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan. -02D-
Politics
-
On the evening of February 5, it was reported that journalist Shahnaz Beylargizi had been arrested. She had been a presenter on the Toplum TV channel for several years. After a criminal case was initiated against the channel in March 2024 and nearly all of its staff were arrested, Beylargizi was questioned multiple times. According to relatives, the police conducted a search of her apartment.
-
By a presidential decree dated February 5, Mukhtar Babaev has been appointed the presidential representative for climate issues.
-
On February 5, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine. According to the document, the Ministry of Energy has been allocated 1 million US dollars to purchase and send electrical equipment, manufactured in Azerbaijan, to Ukraine.
-
The trial of Aziz Orudjev, the head of the online publication Kanal-13, continued on February 5 at the Sabail District Court.
Leave a review