Каспинфо
сентябрь 2003

[закрыть]
Название: ВАХТА КАСПИЯ
Главные Пункты:
* 5 сентября Секретариат Конвенции о международной торговле видами дикой фауны и флоры, находящимися под угрозой исчезновения (СИТЕС) сообщил об увеличении квот на экспрот черной икры. Представители Вахты Каспия отправили запрос в СИТЕС с просьбой предоставить обоснование по этому решению.
(10.09.2003)


Полный Текст
ВАХТА КАСПИЯ
ВАХТА КАСПИЯ

***

Dear Michael and Juan-Carlos

According to CITES press release from September, 5th, "The Secretariat
of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES) has approved quotas for Caspian Sea sturgeon
catch and caviar exports in 2003. The approved quotas for sturgeon
catch and caviar exports are based on information submitted by the
Caspian States and on the Secretariat's missions to the region to
verify survey results."

We, as the members of the environmental NGO network CaspWatch
(www.caspwatch.ru) kindly asked you to provide us information about
sturgeon stocks recovering. As we understand, such information was
submitted to the Secretariat by the Caspian States and on the
Secretariat's missions to the region recently.

Best regards,

--
Aleksey Knizhnikov
"Crude Accountability",
Russia representative and information program coordinator.
Moscow, 117463, p/b 111, tel. (095) 124-5190 fax. 251-7617
e-mail: caspinfo@ecoline.ru

Timur Berkleliev,
"Catena",
Co-chairman,
Turkmenistan, Ashabad
e-mail: timchik@ngotm.org

Azer Garaev
"Azerbaijan Society for the protection of Animals"
Baku, tel (994 12) 94-0304
e-mail: agarayev@azspa.org


***

For use of the media only;
not an official document.

PRESS RELEASE

CITES authorizes 2003 caviar quotas as Caspian Sea
sturgeon stocks start to recover


Geneva, 5 September 2003 - The Secretariat of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) has approved quotas for Caspian Sea sturgeon catch and caviar
exports in 2003.

"After a decade that saw the collapse of sturgeon stocks due to
over-fishing, the governments in the Caspian Sea region are now fully
committed to enforcing CITES regulations. As a result of their joint
efforts to monitor and manage fish stocks and combat poaching, they
are truly starting to turn the situation around," said CITES Deputy
Secretary-General Jim Armstrong.

"The international community has played a vital role by working
through CITES to motivate the five partners and support them in
putting this valuable commercial resource on a sustainable basis," he
said.

The approved 2003 export quotas for caviar total 146,210 kg, compared
with 140,237 kg in 2002 and 153,620 kg in 2001.

The approved quotas for sturgeon catch and caviar exports are based on
information submitted by the Caspian States and on the Secretariat's
missions to the region to verify survey results.

In developing the new quotas, the Caspian States paid particular
attention to Beluga, which produces the most valuable caviar. Beluga
stocks appear to be recovering; greater numbers of fish are spawning
and a higher proportion of the fish being caught are going into
hatchery production rather than into commercial caviar production.

Nevertheless, the Secretariat is pleased with the slightly lower total
catch and caviar export quotas assigned for this species in 2003,
which should give beluga stocks more time to build up (beluga take 11
to 17 years to mature). By sacrificing some immediate income, the
region's governments have demonstrated their commitment to making the
beluga fishery sustainable over the long term.

CITES halted the caviar trade by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan
and the Russian Federation in June 2001 under the so-called Paris
Agreement. It gave the four states until the end of that year to
conduct a scientific survey of stocks and to start developing a common
management plan. The fifth Caspian state, Iran, was not subject to the
caviar ban, but, commendably, it too joined the regional effort. The
CITES Secretariat published the five States' proposal for the 2002
Caspian-wide quota in March 2002.

Because many natural spawning grounds have been destroyed, more than
90% of Caspian Sea beluga sturgeon start their lives in artificial
hatcheries. Over the past two years, the Caspian States have invested
heavily in expanding and refurbishing these hatcheries. They are also
changing their methods to improve the survival rate of fingerlings,
for example by releasing them only after they reach at least five
grams in weight rather than the previous standard of three grams.

Until 1991, two countries - the USSR and Iran - virtually controlled
the caviar market, investing heavily in maintaining fish stocks. This
made it easy to track 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 the replace the state-owned
companies.

The Caspian once accounted for 95% of world caviar, although this
percentage is now closer to 90%. Official catch levels fell from a
peak of about 30,000 tonnes in the late 1970s to less than one tenth
that figure in the late 1990s. Reduced river flow, destroyed spawning
sites, corruption, poaching, organized crime and illicit trade all
contributed to the decline.

One result is that by the late 1990s the illegal catch in the four
former Soviet Republics was estimated to be 10 or 12 times higher than
the legal take. The legal caviar trade has been estimated to be worth
some $100 million annually - making it perhaps the world's most
valuable wildlife resource.

Recognizing the need for action, in 1997 CITES decided to place all
remaining, unlisted species of sturgeon on its Appendix II, effective
from 1 April 1998. As a result, all exports of caviar and other
sturgeon products must 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.

Under the Paris Agreement, the Caspian States committed themselves to
increasing their anti-poaching efforts and, where necessary, to
changing their national legislation to improve their ability to
control domestic markets and enforce their CITES obligations.

The CITES Secretariat is administered by the United Nations
Environment Programme.


Note to journalists: For more information, contact Juan-Carlos Vasquez
at +41-22-8156 or juan.vasquez@unep.ch, or Michael Williams at
+41-79-409-1528 (cell), +41-22-917-8242 (office), or
michael.williams@unep.ch. See also www.cites.org.
***

Kazakhstan today
Информационное агентство
480013 Алматы, пл.Республики, 13
тел. факс: 583-681
E-mail: kz-today@caravan.kz
Все новости агентства
9 сентября 2003 г.
Алматы


ПРИНЯТЫ НОВЫЕ КВОТЫ НА ИКРУ, ПРОИЗВОДИМУЮ ПРИКАСПИЙСКИМИ ГОСУДАРСТВАМИ
5 сентября Секретариат Конвенции о международной торговле видами дикой
фауны и флоры, находящимися под угрозой исчезновения (СИТЕС) сообщил о
новых квотах на икру, производимую прикаспийскими государствами,
сообщает официальный сайт ООН. В 2003 году эти страны смогут
экспортировать в общей сложности 146,8 тонн икры. В прошлом году этот
показатель равнялся 142,2 тоннам. Принятию этого решения предшествовал
отказ стран Каспийского моря от чрезмерного вылова осетровых и их
усилия по пресечению браконьерства. В июне 2001 года в соответствии с
Парижским соглашением была приостановлена торговля икрой из
Азербайджана, Казахстана, Туркменистана и России. Этим странам был
предоставлен срок до конца 2001 года для того, чтобы провести научные
исследования запасов осетровых и выработать совместный план
регулирования ловли рыбы и ее сохранения. По отношению к пятому
прикаспийскому государству - Ирану не предпринимались меры по
запрещению торговли икрой, однако оно также присоединилось к усилиям
других государств. Принятые СИТЕС новые квоты основаны на информации,
представленной самими государствами, а также на результатах работы
международных экспертов, которые подтвердили, что правительства
региона, жертвуя значительными доходами, продемонстрировали свою
готовность регулировать лов осетровых. Кроме того, эти страны
предприняли решительные меры по пресечению браконьерства. При
разработке новых квот особое значение уделялось белуге, которая
является источником самой ценной черной икры. Запасы белуги в
Каспийском море восстанавливаются. Сейчас большая часть вылавливаемой
рыбы используется не для производства икры для продажи, а поступает в
рыбные питомники-инкубаторы, отмечается в заключении экспертов СИТЕС.
Сегодня количество осетровых в Каспийском море выросло до 11,6 млн.,
что на 5 млн. больше, чем в 2000 году.