International trade in caviar suspended

There will, therefore, be no export of caviar and other surgeon products from these states till such time as they supply the missing data that would allow international trade to resume.

Caviar-exporting countries impacted

The affected states are those producing most of the world's caviar. They border the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea/lower Danube River, and the Heilongjiang/Amur River on the Sino-Russian border. Five littoral states along the Caspian Sea - Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan - supply over 90 percent of the world's caviar, the first two being the world's largest exporters.

Re-exports from the UAE

The UAE is an important staging point for caviar trade. The country has, in pursuance of the CITES Secretariat announcement, halted caviar imports (and, therefore, re-exports) from the Caspian basin and other states. No import permits for caviar from the afore-mentioned states are being issued for the time being.
Caviar imports and exports have been strictly controlled in the UAE since 2003, with just three companies permitted to do so.

Why CITES did not approve the export quotas

From 1 April 1998, all 27 sturgeon species have been listed on Appendix II of CITES. Since then, exports of caviar and other sturgeon products have had to comply with strict CITES provisions, including the use of permits (and quotas) and specific labeling requirements. To have its proposed quota published, a government must show that trade is not detrimental to the long term survival of the species. This requirement, however, was not met by the sturgeon-exporting states.

According to CITES, the information provided by the countries did not fully reflect the serious reduction in stocks or make sufficient allowances for illegal fishing. There are indications that many of the sturgeon species in these shared fishing grounds are suffering serious population declines. The Secretariat is concerned that the proposed quotas, while lower than for previous years, may not fully reflect the reductions in stocks or make sufficient allowance for illegal fishing.

Illegal trade

It is estimated that world sturgeon populations have declined by as much as 70 per cent in the past few decades. In particular, the species native to the Caspian Sea and rivers feeding it have suffered sturgeon habitat loss, destruction of breeding grounds, pollution and mismanaged fisheries. Unsustainable harvesting and illegal trade in wild sturgeon populations are major concerns.

Last year reported a thriving illegal trade in caviar across Europe with almost 12,000 kg (12 tons) of illegal caviar seized by European authorities during 2005, most originating in Iran and Russia. It was believed that, although each of the Caspian Sea countries had internationally agreed upon quotas on the amount of sturgeon that could be caught, poachers were catching at least 10 - 15 times the legal amount of sturgeon.

WWF welcomes the strong action taken by CITES. Sturgeon has been in such dire straits, that only drastic action can stop the rampant trade in illegal caviar.