Caviar Market May Collapse

G E N E V A, Dec. 5, 2000 -- Dinner tables around the world may have to make do without caviar in the near future.

Poaching and illegal trade — mostly controlled by the Russian mafia — threaten the survival of sturgeon, the fish that provides those expensive fish eggs.

The increasing political instability in countries on the Caspian Sea coupled with the Russian mafia’s growth since the collapse of the former Soviet Union have so endangered the sturgeon, that the world’s black pearls may well be a just a memory of a luxurious past.

“Illegal fishing and trade, most of which is controlled bythe Russian mafia, is threatening the very existence of thesturgeon,” said Alexander Shestakov, program officer at the World Wildlife Fund-Russia.

The exclusive food is made with the unfertilized eggs from the female surgeon. An adult female can produce up to 15 percent of her body weight in eggs.

The fish is killed and the ovaries are removed and forced through a mesh to separate the roe from other tissues and membranes. The roe is mixed with salt and canned for export to the lucrative international market or for sale locally.

The WWF today called for key countriesbordering the Caspian Sea — Iran, Kazakstan and Russia — to clamp down on overfishing in the basin, which accounts for 60 percent of the world’s caviar supply.

The warning was issued in the run-up to Christmas holiday sales across the world and ahead of a meeting of independent scientists to be held in the United States next week to review compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

“This is the last chance for countries to tackle the sturgeon crisis,” said Shestakov. “Unless clear answers are provided by exporting countries on their sturgeon management efforts, an international ban on caviar could be introduced within six months for the most endangered species.”

Illegal Fishing Sounds Death Knell

Any decision to ban sturgeon fishing will have to be enforced in the waters of the River Volga and out on the Caspian Sea, where the Russian mob has a strong hold.

This year alone, Russian police and border guards have found more than 70 tons of sturgeon entangled in illegal nets. The WWF estimated that the figure represented only a “small fraction” of the illegal catch along the Volga Delta, which feeds into the Caspian Sea.

However, Russian security forces lack the resources to fight the mafia-controlled trade.

“In terms of equipment, the poacher is always ahead and the inspector is always behind him,” said Vadim Lazarev, the Russian chief state inspector of fisheries. “And this imbalance — he always has the latest technology and we are worse equipped — this gets in our way.”

Conservationists recognize that until local people have alternative ways to make a living, it will be next to impossible to eradicate poaching.

Groups like the WWF want to see a range of measures such an investment in the region’s economy, retraining for fishermen and fairer licensing systems to handle the situation in the long term.

Stopping Short of Seeking Ban

But for those feeling the need to stop eating their favorite luxury fish food, environmental organizations are not, as yet, asking people to look for alternatives.

The WWF has also stopped short of calling for an international ban on caviar or a fishing moratorium, saying it awaited the “scientific verdict” from next week’s meeting of scientists in West Virginia.

The world’s seven caviar-exporting countries, which have signed up for voluntary export quotas totaling 239 tons this year, will be in the dock at the meeting. These countries include Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Iran, Kazakstan, Romania and the Russian Federation.

Iran and Russia accounted for the lion’s share of exports,about 90 tons each, followed by Kazakstan at 36.5 tons,according to the WWF. Sturgeon is also caught on the Chinese side of the Amur River and in the Danube River in Eastern Europe.

“The major problem is in the Caspian Sea,” said Caroline Raymakers of TRAFFIC-WWF, which monitors trade in endangered species. “In Iran, sturgeon fishing is a state monopoly, as it was in the former Soviet Union, so the control is much better. That doesn’t mean there isn’t corruption.”

Curbing Illegal Trade

Other measures to curb the illegal trade inCaviar include plans for better labeling of shipments.

But there is a long way to go — with cooperation between different national customs and police authorities yet to be achieved.

WWF officials say the high price caviar fetches on the international export market gives Russia and other producing nations, a powerful financial incentive to protect the sturgeon.

“We definitely think the ban could be the best way to go but it is premature because the value of international trade is still governments’ best incentive to protect the species,” Raymakers said.

Caviar retails for an average of $1,000 per pound in importing countries, according to the WWF.

Last year, the world’s largest caviar trading countries imported 263 tons of the delicacy. The 15 member states of the European Union topped the list at 130 tons, followed by the United States. (99 tons) and Japan (35 tons), the WWF said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.