Caspian states agree on aquatic bioresources management

The Commission on Aquatic Bioresources of the Caspian Sea has approved the project on preservation and rational use of aquatic bioresources of the Caspian Sea, and sturgeons in particular, Tengrinews reports citing Interfax-Kazakhstan.

According to RosRybolovstvo, representatives of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan discussed it in a meeting in Moscow.

After three days of active discussions, they reached a compromise in regards to the project. All five countries agreed on the content of the document. The representatives of some of the countries pointed out that implementation of certain parts of the draft would require settling the issue of coastal fishing zone under the jurisdiction of each particular country. However, they agreed that the issue fell under the authority of the Commission.

The countries confirmed their intent to sign the agreement at the 4th Caspian Summit in September 2014 in Astrakhan, Russia.

The draft agreement on conservation and rational use of bio resources of the Caspian Sea that the five Caspian states were finalising at the meeting was initiated at the 3rd Caspian Summit in Baku in 2010.

The draft allows fishing in accordance with the amount specified in national quotas, based on the criteria agreed upon by the five nations and settled by the Commission, with fish reproduction volumes being one of them. The draft introduces commitments to fight poaching and foster the reproduction of fish reserves.

The Commission on Aquatic Bioresources of the Caspian Sea was established in 1992. Iran joined the Commission in 2002. The Commission is the sole legal institution that works on managing aquatic bioresources in the Caspian Sea.

By Gyuzel Kamalova