|
First Global Review Sees Bleak Future
for sturgeon; Bold Measures Can Save Endangered Fish.
MIAMI—Sturgeon – producers of the highly prized
black caviar, one of the most valuable wildlife commodities
on earth – are in worldwide crisis, according to the
most comprehensive study to date on the world’s sturgeon
fisheries published today in the current issue of the journal Fish
and Fisheries.
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
World Catch of sturgeon & Paddlefish,
1960-2002
(Source: Fig3 - Pikitch et al, FAF) |
|
|
“Our findings are very bleak,” says Ellen Pikitch,
PhD, a lead author and executive director of the University
of Miami’s Pew Institute for Ocean Science. “The
majority of the world’s major sturgeon fisheries are
now catching 85 percent fewer fish than they did at their peak. More
than one-third of the fisheries examined crashed within seven
to 20 years of inception.”
Reporting local extinctions in 19 of 27 species, Pikitch and
her colleagues developed a report card of indicators, critical
to the sturgeon’s survival for key populations around
the world. Eleven species ranked at or below 25 percent
of the maximum score.
- Caspian and Black Sea populations, the major source of
the world’s most valuable caviar, fared worst.
- European and Asian populations outside the Black and
Caspian Seas scored slightly better, thanks to free-flowing
spawning rivers.
- North American populations (Atlantic and white sturgeon),
particularly those currently protected from commercial
pressure, fared best in most management categories but
fell short in habitat quality.
Called “living fossils” clad in bony plates, the
late-maturing, naturally long-lived sturgeon is victim to overfishing,
poor management practices, poaching, and loss of habitat. Measuring
up to 15-feet long and weighing up to 2,500 pounds, the beluga
surgeon, producing the world’s rarest and most expensive
caviar at up to $150 per ounce, is the most threatened commercial
species.
“Despite years of recognition of imperilment, no commercial
sturgeon fisheries get a passing grade. Caspian Sea sturgeon
fisheries will be history if overfishing and poaching are not
immediately controlled,” says Phaedra Doukakis, PhD,
also of the Pew Institute and co-lead author, outlining the
paper’s recommendations:
- For Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Amur River, and wild Siberian
sturgeon populations, fishing pressure should be reduced. For
the most endangered species, fisheries should be closed
until populations have recovered.
- For North American sturgeon and paddlefish, interstate,
trans-boundary management among states harboring common
populations should be strengthened. Mandatory reporting
of all commercial and recreational landings should be instituted
in all fisheries.
- CITES’ international policymakers should adopt
a precautionary approach. Decisions on quotas should consider
uncertainty of population status, evidence of decline,
and rates of illegal fishing. In so doing, zero quotas
likely will result for many species.
- The international scientific community should establish
guidelines for monitoring, assessment and management of
sturgeon populations, and develop thresholds for population
declines or abundance levels that will trigger fisheries
closures. International programs to build capacity
and raise awareness about the benefits of a sustained commercial
fishery and alternatives to sturgeon fishing should be
instituted, particularly within the Caspian region.
- Focused research efforts on tagging, monitoring, and
survivability of hatchery-released fish, with information-sharing
across the Northern Hemisphere to aid the most threatened
species are needed.
- Aquaculture, with production now exceeding that of wild-caught
fisheries, offers great promise for the future, but must
proceed cautiously to ensure that it relieves fishing pressure
and does not increase demands on deteriorating wild populations
or cause additional environmental harm.
“Programs that inform the public about sturgeon conservation,
such as Caviar Emptor, already have affected consumer and retailer
behavior and can inspire public action to change domestic and
international policy,” concludes Pikitch. “We
must protect this valuable resource before it vanishes.”
Caviar Emptor has led a public information campaign and public
policy effort to reduce consumption of caviar from Caspian
Sea sturgeon by proposing ecologically-sound aquacultured alternatives,
leading the charge to list beluga sturgeon under the U.S. Endangered
Species Act, and calling for a halt to international trade
in beluga caviar. For more information, visit www.caviaremptor.org or
write to info@caviaremptor.org.
In 2003, the Pew Charitable Trusts partnered with the
University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric
Science to provide a generous, multi-year grant and founded
the Pew Institute for Ocean Science, which undertakes, sponsors,
and promotes world-class scientific activity aimed at protecting
the world's oceans and the species that inhabit them. The
scientific role of the institute is to increase public understanding
of the causes and the consequences of problems affecting
the marine environment. The conservation role is to
promote solutions to these problems.
Press Contact:
Chris Dudley - 305-456-1625 - cdudley@miami.edu |
|
*