TL: MEDIA BRIEFING - SAWFISH AND `CAVIAR-FISH' PAY DEARLY FOR THEIR DISTINCTION SO: GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL, (GP) DT: JUNE, 1997 Large-scale illegal fisheries in the Caspian Sea area are driving caviar-producing sturgeon to extinction. Populations of sawfish, essentially a bycatch species, are being depleted as a result of the protrusion on their snout, which is in demand with tourists and practitioners of traditional medicine. Greenpeace applauds the proposals to list these species on Appendix II and I, respectively. WHAT ARE STURGEON? Sturgeon are primitive fish that live in inland and coastal waters in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. The largest of the 25 different species, the Beluga sturgeon, may reach a length of six metres. Their relatively late sexual maturity makes them particularly vulnerable to over-exploitation. WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT THEM? Sturgeon's claim to fame rests on their unfertilised eggs, known as caviar. This culinary delicacy and symbol of wealth, fetching prices that may run into thousands of dollars a kilo, is harvested mainly from fish caught in rivers around the Caspian Sea. Only three species in that area produce genuine caviar: Russian, stellate and Beluga sturgeon. WHAT IS THE STATUS OF STURGEON? Sturgeon have already disappeared from many rivers and seas. Now, the Caspian species are at risk. Dam-building and other changes in rivers have reduced their spawning grounds. Economic activities such as oil exploitation have seriously polluted the Caspian Sea. But the most imminent threat is the sturgeon fishery, that has run wild since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. HOW HAS THE PROBLEM COME ABOUT? The Union's Caspian shores were divided among four new republics (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan) in 1991. Some of these lifted earlier restrictions and reduced enforcement efforts. The high price for caviar on the international market made it extremely lucrative to catch as much sturgeon as possible. BOX Sturgeon in figures Mature sturgeon in the Caspian Sea: 1978: 142 million tonnes 1996: 43,5 million tonnes Number of Beluga sturgeon in the Volga River Early '70s: 25,000 Early '90s: 11,700 END OF BOX HOW SERIOUS IS THE ILLEGAL-TRADE PROBLEM? Eighty to ninety percent of sturgeon catches in the Caspian Sea area are now illegal. Current levels of exploitation far exceed sustainable levels. By mislabelling the eggs of other sturgeon species as genuine caviar, the illegal traders, who are mainly based in Russia and Azerbaijan, are spoiling world market prices, thereby undermining efforts to manage and recover sturgeon stocks. Importantly, the Caspian nations have recently acknowledged the severe threat posed to sturgeon and have called for strong measures to curb the illegal catches and trade. WHAT WILL BE DISCUSSED IN HARARE? Germany has proposed to list all sturgeon species on Appendix II (save two that already are on Appendix I), which would make the trade subject to licensing. Five species are to be included because of their endangered or vulnerable status; the other eighteen are to be listed because they are hard to distinguish from these five. WHAT ARE SAWFISH? Biologically speaking, sawfish are remote relatives of sharks. They reproduce slowly and at a relatively late age. They use their distinctive saw to capture prey by slashing through schools of fish or rooting along the sea floor. WHO WANTS THEM? The saws are used as a traditional medicine in China and sold as curios elsewhere. There is also a market for their fins (for soup) and liver (for pharmaceutical and lubricant oil). They are taken primarily as bycatch in other fisheries, but given their commercial value, they are rarely released alive. WHAT WILL BE DISCUSSED IN HARARE? The United States has proposed to include all sawfish species on Appendix I. Sawfish have virtually disappeared from many places where they used to be common, such as Sri Lanka, the Mediterranean, the US East Coast and Malaysia. Bycatches of sawfish have decreased sharply over the last three decades, which is suggestive of a serious population decline. The World Conservation Union IUCN has listed four sawfish species as endangered. Greenpeace supports the proposals. Subjecting the caviar trade to licensing is an important first step to push it back within legal bounds before it is too late. It would facilitate management efforts, including involving importing countries in the detection of illegal caviar. As for sawfish, fishers are more likely to reduce their bycatch if it has no legal commercial value. For further details see the official Greenpeace submission to the CITES conference.