Sturgeon Protection Puts Lid On Caviar Caspian Sea Stocks Are Threatened By Russian Mafia Black Market

Exports and imports of Russian caviar fish eggs coveted as one of the world’s finest delicacies will be severely limited under a measure adopted Wednesday by the world’s environmental leaders that expands a global treaty on endangered species.

In a unanimous move, officials meeting in Zimbabwe to revise the pact added all varieties of sturgeon, the major source of caviar, to the list of animals and plants for which commercial sales are restricted.

Every country that exports or imports caviar must take steps to regulate trade beginning April 1, 1998. But the most severe limits are expected on Caspian Sea beluga sturgeon - the source of the world’s most prized caviar, which sells for about $50 per ounce in California gourmet stores.

Under the expanded treaty, officials from Russia - who endorsed the restrictions in order to rescue one of their most valuable resources - and other nations bordering the Caspian Sea will be responsible for setting quotas on their exports.

But Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran and Azerbaijan, which ring the Caspian, have proved largely unable to control poaching and smuggling, so enforcement for the most part will be up to the United States and other importing countries.

The United States, which teamed with Germany to propose the regulation at the 10th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, is the world’s largest importer of caviar. U.S. consumers feasted on 60 tons of the salty roe a year from 1992 through 1995.

U.S. Customs agents will examine shipments for illegal imports to ensure that only caviar with the proper permits from the exporting country is allowed into U.S. ports. Agents eventually are expected to use new DNA technology to identify sources of imported eggs.

Caspian Sea sturgeon are at risk of extinction from overfishing because of a thriving caviar black market that is largely controlled by the Russian mafia. Adult sturgeons, which normally live long lives and spawn irregularly, are killed when eggs are collected, causing the steep declines in the fish population that were first noted in the mid 1970s.

Sue Lieberman, chief of operations at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said caviar will still be available in the United States, but products from the Caspian Sea - which provides 90 percent of the world’s caviar - will be highly restricted. The price of beluga caviar is expected to skyrocket as the supply, which already has reached historic lows, is reduced.

Caviar harvested from U.S. fish will be unaffected because the American government will certify that the trade will not cause the extinction of domestic sturgeon.

Officials of Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan announced Wednesday that they are committed to taking steps to stem poaching of their prized sturgeon. About 80 percent of Caspian caviar is believed to be poached and traded illegally.

In a separate vote at the CITES summit, the world environmental leaders denied protection for another luxury product - mahogany from Mexico and Central and South America. The stock of tropical mahogany is reportedly declining due to illegal logging.

The United States imports more mahogany, prized for its lustrous finish and crafted into fine furniture, than any other nation. Largely because of opposition from the Brazilian government, which says it has taken steps to conserve its forests, the measure failed to muster the required two-thirds majority to pass. Sixty-seven delegates, including the U.S. representative, voted in favor, with 45 opposed and nine abstaining.

It is the third time that CITES countries over the past decade have rejected protection for mahogany. Disappointed environmentalists said the delegates ignored the evidence and caved into pressure from Brazil, which along with Bolivia dominates the mahogany market.