Ban on Caspian sturgeon fishing extended by end of 2024

Caspian Sea littoral states have extended the ban on
sturgeon fishing in the Caspian Sea until the end of 2024, according to the
public relations office of Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture. 

In an agreement signed during the seventh meeting of the
Commission on Protection and Optimal Utilization of the Caspian Sea Living
Resources held in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, five Caspian states
agreed that the beluga sturgeon is still among the endangered species in the
Caspian Sea and extended the ban on sturgeon fishing until the end of
2024. 

More than 90 percent of the world’s caviar is produced in
the Caspian Sea. The members of the Commission include Iran, Russia,
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan.

The Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) is a species of
fish in the family Acipenseridae. It is found in the Caspian Sea and to a
lesser extent the Black Sea and ascends certain rivers to spawn, mainly the
Volga, Kura, Araks, and Ural Rivers.  

The threats faced by this fish include excessive fishing
with the removal of immature fish before they have bred, damming of the rivers,
loss of spawning areas and water pollution.