Azerbaijan: Ready for Sturgeon Fishing Ban, Though Reluctant to Follow Russia

Azerbaijan stands ready to back a Russian ban on Caspian Sea sturgeon fishing, but local experts say that, in many ways, Azerbaijan is more of a model for sustainable sturgeon fishing than Russia itself.

The five Caspian Sea littoral states -- Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan -- are responsible for about 90 percent of the world's black caviar production. However, experts warn that over-fishing may be causing a catastrophic decline in the sea's sturgeon population.

In response to the alarming trend, the head of the Russian State Fisheries this March proposed a five-year ban on sturgeon fishing for all five countries. The agency is expected to make an official proposal in July, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported. Discussions on a ban are expected to be on the agenda during a regular meeting of the Caspian states' intergovernmental commission in September.

Russian officials are pushing for a ban to enter into force in the spring 2009. Azerbaijan says it's ready to sign on. "Even poachers now often return from sturgeon fishing with empty hands," commented Chingiz Maharramov, a former head of the Azerbaijan State Fisheries. "The population of sturgeon in the Caspian has seriously decreased, indeed," he said.

In the 1960s, about 50,000 tons of sturgeon was harvested annually in the Caspian Sea and in its tributaries. Today the annual haul stands at about 1,000 tons. Without effective protection, sturgeon could completely disappear from the Caspian by 2020, according to Maharramov, who now works as an independent expert.

Azerbaijani officials, though, see little need to take their cue on a sturgeon ban from Russia.

The government points with pride to one sturgeon farm built in the seaside region of Neftchala, as well as to the reconstruction of three other farms dating back to the Soviet era. Thanks to the farms, Azerbaijan plans to return 20 million sturgeon to the Caspian Sea in 2008, a twofold increase over last year, the Environment Ministry says.

Some export quotas have also gotten tighter; the government recently slashed to 125 grams the maximum amount of black caviar individuals can take out of the country -- a 50-percent reduction.

Switzerland, the United States and France are the main foreign customers for Azerbaijani black caviar. Exports to these markets accounted for over 57 percent of the 6,755 kilograms produced in 2007, according to the State Statistics Committee.

Officially, only three companies -- Lankaran Balig Kombinati, Neftchala Balig Kombinati and Khazarbalig -- hold a government license for sturgeon fishing in Azerbaijan. All sturgeon and caviar produced by these companies is sold to the Caspian Fish Company, which holds a monopoly on Azerbaijani sturgeon and caviar exports.

A trip to Baku's central Teze market, however, is enough to see that this monopoly is far from watertight. Illegal trading in black caviar and sturgeon takes place openly at Teze. Traders distribute business cards with an invitation to "call when you need high-quality caviar." At $800 per kilogram, the price for black caviar at the bazaar runs about $200 cheaper than in official Caspian Fish Company shops.

Poachers at the bazaar told EurasiaNet that the caviar is produced at illegal processing facilities in villages along the Caspian Sea coast north of Baku. Such businesses mean that any ban on sturgeon fishing would need to be accompanied by a tough crackdown against poaching, Maharramov believes. He claims that other Caspian Sea states (apart from Iran) produce anywhere from five to 10 times the amount of sturgeon and caviar they officially declare. "There was an efficient system [against illegal fishing] in the USSR, but now anyone can go fishing without a serious risk of being detained," he said. For now, though, Russia's proposal makes no mention of a crackdown.

Aside from the issue of poaching, other concerns exist within Azerbaijan about the ban initiative. One government adviser notes that the length of the proposed moratorium is inadequate. "The ban has to be for at least ten years because sturgeon takes eight to 12 years to mature," said Tariel Mammadli, an advisor on sturgeon stocks for the Azerbaijani Environment Ministry.

Azerbaijan halted fishing for ship sturgeon, one of the most endangered, several years ago, but other Caspian Sea states did not sign on to the ban.
The ongoing tussle over territorial rights in the Caspian Sea could prove a hurdle for enforcement of a ban.

Outside of each Caspian Sea state's 10-mile territorial zone, "the open sea is ownerless," said Mammadli. "No one knows what is going on there