Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 6 • Number 1 • 20th January 2006

CITES Stops Trade in Wild Caviar to Save Sturgeon

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Legal trade in wild sturgeon caviar between the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was suspended on 3 January owing to concerns over the impact of trade in the species on its survival. The CITES Secretariat’s decision to stop issuing the certificates required by the agreement for trade to take place came in response to concerns that the caviar export quotas proposed by sturgeon-producing states were too high given low levels of fish stocks and the fact that the proposed quotas did not take into account the magnitude of illegal fishing. The Secretariat noted that the caviar exporters had failed to prove that illegal harvesting and trade was not adversely affecting the species. In addition, the exporters had not provided satisfactory information about the effectiveness of management and the sustainability of their sturgeon catch based on scientific surveys and a regional conservation strategy. While countries sharing sturgeon stocks agree amongst themselves on catch and export quotas, the quotas subsequently have to be approved and published by the CITES Secretariat.

In 1998, the 169 CITES member states decided to place all sturgeon species on Appendix II of the Convention, which includes species that Parties have agreed to subject to trade controls in order to ensure their survival. In deciding to not issue any certificates for 2006 for all beluga sturgeon, including Black Sea and Caspian varieties, the Secretariat thereby effectively shut down all legal trade amongst Parties to the Convention. It also called on importing countries to ensure that border officials require proper CITES registration and labelling to ensure that imports are from legal sources. Although the Secretariat has in the past decided not to grant certificates to authorise caviar trade from certain regions because of the lack of conservation information, this is the first time it has decided not to grant certificates for any sturgeon caviar worldwide (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 10 September 2004).

“Ban on trade in wild caviar as sturgeon stocks plunge”, The Guardian, 4 January 2006; “Caviar trade shut down to save sturgeon”, New York Times, 4 January 2006; “International caviar trade suspended”, WWF International, 3 January 2006; “No Legal Caviar Exports This Year” ENS, 5 January 2006; “Caviar Smugglers Seen Foiling 2006 Export Rules”, Reuters News Service, 29 December 2005; “Caviar Exporters Urged to Strengthen Controls and Promote Sustainable Fishing”, UNEP Press Release, 3 January 2006; “UN Moves to Block 2006 Caspian Sea Caviar Exports”, Reuters News Service, 4 January 2006.