Azernews.Az

The overall quota for sturgeon fishing in the Caspian Sea has been reduced 7% this year, with 6.7% reduction applied for Azerbaijan. The decision was passed by the commission dealing with the basin’s bio-resources at its annual meeting held in Tehran, the Azerbaijani environment ministry said.
Thus, the decision brings the 2010 quota on sturgeon fishing to about 987 tons for all coastal states, while the figure for Azerbaijan is about 84 tons.
Since the five littoral states did not agree upon fishing quotas in 2009, the figure was retained at the 2008 level, which had been set at 1,061 tons for the whole Caspian. Azerbaijan’s quota was 90 tons, while that for Russia was 286.5 tons, Iran 440 tons, Turkmenistan 62 tons, and Kazakhstan 182.5 tons.
The meeting in the Iranian capital also discussed Kazakhstan’s proposal to ban sturgeon fishing in the Caspian. Iran and Turkmenistan suggested that the issue be considered after a broad scrutiny is conducted and a relevant legal mechanism developed. Russia, for its part, agreed with further fishing on the condition that it serves to increase the population of sturgeon fish and is used for scientific purposes.*