Sturgeon Conservation Initiative

Lausanne, Switzerland - 13 November 1998: Azerbaidjan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation and Turkemistan, five countries sharing the littoral zone of the Caspian Sea, met from 11 to 14 November in Lausanne to develop mechanisms to ensure the conservation of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea.  Sturgeon are the large, slow-growing fish whose eggs provide the delicacy known as caviar. 

Historically, the Caspian Sea has provided 90% of the total world supply of caviar.  Recently,  however, ecological and economical factors including illegal activities have contributed to a serious decline in the population of some sturgeon species. This decline prompted the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to list all species of sturgeons on its list of controlled species. 

During the three-day discussion, several conservation practices were agreed upon, including establishing voluntary export quotas, marking procedures for sturgeon products, and control of stockpiles of caviar, accumulated prior to the start of  CITES’ international controls. They also welcomed the creation of the Caspian Fund aiming at the restauration of the whole ecosystem of the Caspian Sea. The recently created International Caviar Importers Association (ICIA), attending the meeting as an observer, fully supported these measures. 

"The Governments of the littoral countries of the Caspian Sea are to be commended for their efforts to curb the decline of sturgeons in the Caspian Sea", said Eugene Lapointe, President of IWMC World Conservation Trust, organization that conveyed and acted as facilitator for the meeting. 

"The conservation of any species, subject to international trade, can only be achieved by full cooperation between producing countries, the industry, the scientific community and the consuming countries. In that sense, the five countries are appealing to the major importing countries to assist them in eliminating the illegal trade in caviar", added Jaques Berney, Executive Vice-President of IWMC World Conservation Trust. 

A representative of ICIA stated that "while legal trade, properly controlled can be an incentive to conservation of wild species, the illegal trade has a most negative impact, not only on the target species, but on the whole ecosystem in which species are found". 

"This meeting constitutes a commitment by the five concerned countries and an appeal to the rest of the world to assist them in insuring the future of the sustainable use of the sturgeon products and to enhance the conservation of the species" concluded Lapointe. 

As research continues to determine the ecological reasons for the decline in sturgeon populations, the five countries have agreed to continue their cooperation on a permanent basis.

For further information, please contact
Eugene Lapointe, IWMC President,
Former Secretary General of CITES (1982-1990)
Tel/Fax: +1(727) 734-4949 or Email: iwmc@iwmc.org