Caviar and Oil.. The black treasuries of the Caspian Sea. Baku, Azerbaijan

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THE CAVIAR, BLACK GOLD OF THE CASPIAN SEA. This Christmas there will be little caviar around the world: three of the major world producers, Russia, Kazahstan and Azerbaijan, were not self sturgeon fish more for this season to avoid the notice of CITES (the UN body that regulates the trade in protected species) and to try to save a species whose survival is critically threatened. Why is said: to get the caviar, the eggs of the sturgeon is not fertilized, it is necessary to kill the female. This species grows slowly and can reach and exceed one hundred years old: to kill the females before the reproduction is a biological crime. The official data show that catches have fallen by 90% over the last twenty years because of pollution, the destruction of the habitat where fish live, but especially fishing totally devoid of controls. The annual turnover is estimated around a billion dollars: 90% from illegal traffic. For every ton of sturgeon "legal" ones are in fact put on the market from 9 am to 12 tons, often by companies founded with capital of organized crime that have taken the place of state enterprises after the Soviet disintegration of the USSR. The suspension of fishing is part of a program of 12 months aimed at rebuilding stocks of sturgeon and was announced at the meeting of CITES in Paris, member states will have permission to market the caviar extract in the spring. The leaders of CITES have recognized that this temporary measure is not likely to have immediate effect on the illicit trade, but the three countries pledged to adopt a long-term plan that includes the fight against smuggling with the help of Interpol and the same CITES. Two other producing countries, Iran and Turkmenistan were not present at the meeting while the situation in Iran is under control - the production is firmly in the hands of the government implementing a close vigilance against the smugglers - Turkmenistan will have to adapt to the directives or will be affected by the ban of exports of caviar. All five countries have signed the CITES treaty which allows the agency to ban imports of products containing endangered species. The announcement is a first step in the right direction said Ellen Pikitch, the Wildlife Conservation Society "but for a species that grows slowly, lives a century and takes many years to reach sexual maturity, there are no quick fixes."