Publication Name

Catching the last sturgeon

The Caspian area is the world’s main producer of

wild caviar (83% in 2003) and supplies the three

largest markets, the European Union, Japan and

the United States. The construction of several hy-

droelectric power plants and dams along the Volga

river significantly altered the flow of water into the

delta and destroyed about 90% of the sturgeon’s

spawning grounds, which can be as far as several

hundreds of kilometres upstream. With high levels

of water pollution, sturgeon also suffer from vari-

ous diseases. According to the survey of the Food

and Agriculture Organization, reported data from

Caspian states excluding Iran indicate that the stur-

geon catch has dropped from an average of about

22,000 tonnes a year in the 1970s to about 1,500

tonnes a year since 2002.

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