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Al-Monitor – Iran and other states along the Caspian Sea have renewed a ban on the fishing of beluga sturgeon.
Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, who are parties to the Caspian Sea Aquatic Resources Convention, renewed the ban on the commercial fishing of sturgeon, the state-run Press TV reported Wednesday.
Why it matters: Sturgeon fishing has been banned in the Caspian Sea since 2011. The fish is highly endangered due to overfishing, habitat loss and illegal trade of caviar, according to the World Wild Fund for Nature.
Sturgeon is used to make caviar, and caviar from sturgeon in the Caspian is particularly famous. However, Iran and other states on the Caspian Sea are not the top caviar exporters in the world in terms of monetary value. The top three caviar exporters in 2021 were China, Italy and France, while the top importer was the United States, according to the economic data website Tridge.
Iran does export caviar that is produced via reserve populations of sturgeon that are kept in captivity. The semi-official Mehr News Agency reported this month that Iran exports caviar to 33 countries and wants to double its exports by 2025.
Know more: Israel is a top 10 global exporter of caviar, according to Tridge. The delicacy, though expensive, has become popular among wealthy tech elites in the country, the Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported in May.
