The Future of Sturgeon Caviar in the Caspian Sea

Synopsis Sturgeon Caviar is a highly sought after and prized resource of the Caspian Sea, yet in the past decade, official sturgeon landings in the Caspian Sea have decreased dramatically as a result of environmental and human caused factors. This depletion of sturgeon population can be contributed to the combination of many factors: illegal catch, poaching, pollution, loss of habitat, over-harvesting, life history characteristics, and the collapse of the soviet union and the breaking up of joint resource management in the Caspian Sea. Our focus is to outline the effects of pollution, climate change, and loss of habitat on the Caspian Sturgeon population, and how the lack of regulation of Sturgeon Caviar production and export has led to the decline in the population

Habitat Destruction Sturgeon spawn in the rivers the feed into the Caspian Sea. After hatching, sturgeon larvae migrate to the sea where they live and mature, and then return to the river of origin to spawn. The principle river for sturgeon is the Volga river. Recent construction of a dam ruined the habitat for sturgeon spawning, particularly for the beluga species. Sturgeons are large fish that can take up to 15 years to reach reproductive age. The females of most sturgeon species can only reproduce once every three to four years. The sturgeon must be killed to harvest its eggs, and as a result, the sturgeon is very vulnerable to overfishing as it is not easily capable of recovering.

Pollution The presence of oil in the surrounding regions of the Caspian poses another hazard for sturgeon populations. This pollution causes disease and physical abnormalities which has been observed in Beluga Sturgeon as a result of the contaminated water in the Caspian (More specifically, in the Volga River). Contaminants from sewage and heavy industrial waste reside in sediments and thus are also found in sturgeon. This contamination also has an adverse effect on sturgeon reproduction as well as the sturgeon prey. Some of the main sources of the hydrocarbon pollutions of the Caspian Sea are: oil transportation, natural hydrocarbon leakage, industrial wastes, the oil refinery industry and outflow of oil from onshore oil exploration activities. These pollutant levels contribute to a decrease in sturgeon longevity and reproduction.

Overuse The international demand for caviar The decline of the Soviet Union in 1991 disturbed the regularity and authority that had monitored sturgeon with strict quotas in order to ensure caviar production in the future. Ineffective Quota Systems

Climate Change In conditions of climate warming and raising of Caspian Sea level it is possible to suppose that shallow water area will increase and correspondingly water temperature on these areas and on surface water masses of sea will increase. The Caspian is an isolated basin which reacts rapidly to changes in atmosphere. The Caspian Sea, being in direct connection with the draining rivers of the melting of the ice and disconnected from the Global Ocean, recorded perfectly this climate variability and created a prefect archive for past climate variability record. Sturgeons spawn in shallow waters, and the rise of sea level has destructed many spawning grounds, most specifically in the Northern Caspian. The Caspian Sea experienced a dramatic shift from a decline in sea levels followed by a rapid increase which effected the sturgeon spawning productivity as the distribution of nutrients was effected.

Recommendations United States Endangered Species act and banning all imports of caviar to the United States in Functioning Hatcheries Many organization are working with CITES, or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, to develop effective measures of controlling pollution, habitat destruction, and monitoring the export of sturgeon with precise quotas. Prevention of further Global Warming