Perspectives for conservation and exploitation of aquatic bioresources of the Caspian Basin

regional catch quotas – региональное квотирование уловов

The questions of prognosticating and defining the main directions of development of resources, industry and pond fish farming are constantly elaborated by the institute taking into consideration current changes in environmental conditions and implementation of measures planned. At the same time, trends of fisheries development, and its main indices are determined; ways and means of implementation and measures on industry stabilizing and growth are planned.

In order to define perspectives of fisheries development under modern ecological and geopolitical conditions "The Concept for conservation and rational utilization of bioresources of the Caspian basin including its legal regime and other factors" was elaborated at the institute under the guidance of the author with the participation of fisheries organizations of the basin. It considers the following:

- current ecological situation in the basin and its influence on formation of biological and fish productivity;

- assessment of present state of stocks and catch prognosis of commercial bioresources;

- importance of natural reproduction and enhancement of commercially valuable species;

- proposals to increase fish productivity of the inner water bodies in the Lower Volga and development of marketable fish production;

- recommendations and measures on conservation and rational utilization of resources in the basin;

The sea level rise, the extension of its area caused the increase of reproductive effectiveness of semi-anadromous fish. The growth trend is observed in adult fish as well. Average catches of vobla, small and la ordinary fish, in the Northern Caspian during that period, increased from 67.1 up to 69.1 thousand tons, although fishery conditions deteriorated significantly due to the sea level rise as well as accuracy of reporting of fish harvested. At present, commercial stocks of semi-anadromous and freshwater fish are assessed as 300-400 thousand tons.

In food resources of Caspian kilka (zooplankton) there were no considerable changes. During the recent years the level of the kilka stocks stabilized. Kilka stock in the Middle Caspian allows the harvest of 70-80 thousand tons annually.

As it was mentioned above, sturgeon resources are in a precarious condition. Biomass of spawning part of sturgeon population in the Volga declined by 9 times from 1981 to 1996. In 1997 the official catch was 1.22 thousand tons in the Volga. Totally in the basin (including Iran) the legal catch of sturgeon declined down to 1.85 thousand tons. In recent years Iran harvested about 1.5 thousand tons. Caviar production in Russia declined from 1016 tons in 1989 down to 82 tons in 1996. In 1997 sturgeons were included in Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The strict international control over export of caviar in volumes determined according 10 scientifically based limits, halting its illegal export abroad, would probably decrease the extent of poaching in the Caspian.

The urgent measures on sturgeon conservation are: to stop poaching; to allow sturgeon to their spawning grounds; to increase production of juveniles at the fish farms, construction of vessels for transporting juveniles into the sea (50% of production), to prevent pollution of the sea and rivers by industrial and agricultural discharge and oil products. Realization of those measures is possible only under united efforts of all Caspian states and signing of the Agreement on conservation and exploitation of bioresources of the Caspian Sea. It will allow maintaining sturgeon catches on level 1 -1.5 thousand tons in the nearest years. Without taking effective measures moratorium on sturgeon fishing is inevitable.

In 1994 on the basis of Ikryaninskiy sturgeon fish farm the Trade Scientific Productional Center "BIOS" on marketable sturgeon production was established. Its main tasks are the creation of sturgeon brood stock and providing stocking material for the fish farms. The federal program of development of sturgeon farming for the period until 2010 (Osetr-2010) obliged "BIOS" to grow marketable sturgeon in volume of 1000 tons per year and production of sturgeon juveniles for sale - up to 6.0 million pieces by 2000.

Implementation of measures envisaged by the Concept and realization of the program "Osetr-2010" could provide the annual catch and sturgeon production at a volume of 2.5-3.0 thousand tones in the Caspian basin by the year 2010. Implementation of all measures proposed on formation of bioresources and intensification of fishing would allow harvest of commercial species in a volume of 232.5 thousand tons in 2010.

The main directions of a strategy on conservation of bioresources of the Caspian Sea for a short and long term perspective are:

- determination of international legal rules of fisheries management in the basin providing agreed measures on protection and enhancement of bioresources;

- regional catch quotas based on assessment of contribution of states to the formation of commercial stocks;

- conservation of ecosystem of the sea under conditions of escalation of hydrocarbon extraction;

- elimination of wide-scaled illegal fishing of sturgeon that destroyed their stocks;

- improvement of fishing regime aimed at optimal passage of breeders to their spawning grounds;

- regulating the Volga flow according to fisheries schedule allowing natural reproduction (and conservation of gene pool) of sturgeons and other commercial species of the basin;

- increase of scale of rearing juveniles of sturgeon, salmon and other commercially valuable species, utilization-of methods to increase their commercial return (transportation of juveniles to their feeding grounds, growing in marine zone, etc.);

- search for ways to raise sea productivity through acclimatization of new food organisms and perspective commercial species.

At the same time, changes in fisheries infrastructure and implementation of a number of technical measures on rational utilization of bioresources are necessary:

- elaboration of selective fishing methods for shallow water sea zone excluding by-catch of non commercial part of sturgeon and other fish populations;

- creation of shallow-water fishing fleet for mobile work in coastal areas with high concentration of marine and migratory fish (herring, mullet, common carp and others);

- construction of new vessels for kilka fishing with side lift nets and "drifting anchor" to utilize bioresources optimally;

1. What are the main directions of development of resources, industry and pond fish farming?

2. What does "The Concept for conservation and rational utilization of bioresources of the Caspian basin including its legal regime and other factors" consider?

3. The sea level rise caused the increase of reproductive effectiveness of semi-anadromous fish, didn't it?

6. What are the main directions of a strategy on conservation of bioresources of the Caspian Sea?

ways and means of implementation, define perspectives of fisheries development, under the guidance of, natural reproduction, the inner water bodies, rational utilization, semi-anadromous, Caspian kilka, a precarious condition, harvested, inevitable, wide-scaled illegal fishing of sturgeon, improvement of fishing regime, scale of rearing juveniles of sturgeon.

основные направления, геополитические условия, правовой режим, прогноз уловов промысловых биоресурсов, рыбодобывающая и перерабатывающая промышленности, подъем уровня моря, значительно, биомасса, под угрозой исчезновения, промышленные и сельскохозяйственные стоки, объединение усилий, развитие товарного осетроводства, интенсификация, нелегальный промысел, новые кормовые организмы, ботовой подхват, плавучий якорь, морские и проходные рыбы, естественное воспроизводство.

3. The extension of the sea area (to cause) the increase of reproductive effectiveness of semi-anadromous fish.

5. Desalination of sea (to take place) and (to contribute) to increasing food base for the main commercial species.

Например, на фермерских хозяйствах по выращиванию прудовой рыбы, их высокая рыбопродуктивность достигается благодаря использованию около 1% зернового корма и концентратов, а все остальное составляют отходы или выращиваемая зеленая растительная масса. Минеральные удобрения вообще не используются, так как в избытке существуют органические удобрения. Дамбы прудов строят широкими, до 10 метров, они служат для выращивания трав (в качестве корма для рыб), овощей, фруктов, здесь же строят и свинарники, чтобы не перевозить навоз. На осетровых прудах широко используют поликультуру, выращивают уток, гусей. Товарное осетроводство - прибыльное и экономически перспективное направление рыбного хозяйства, которое интенсивно развивается за рубежом. Причин слабого развития товарного осетроводства в республике много - несовершенная налого-кредитная политика, отсутствие государственной поддержки, опыта и технологий товарного выращивания, наконец, слабая информированность и недостаток знаний у предпринимателей, фермеров и рыбаков о том, что такое товарное осетроводство и как создать собственное товарное осетровое хозяйство. Основы проектирования и создания товарных осетровых хозяйств, биотехнологию выращивания осетровых, интенсификацию рыбоводного процесса, технологию обработки и изготовления рыбной продукции, осуществление комплекса мероприятий по сохранению и увеличению запасов осетровых рыб, включая исследование состояния генофонда осетровых и других видов рыб, меры по сохранению и увеличению запасов рыб, за счёт увеличения количества выращиваемой и выпускаемой в море молоди, а также товарного осетроводства, создание товарного хозяйства и товарное выращивание осетровых не является дешевым и быстроокупаемым процессом.

For example, on farms cultivating pond fishes, their high fish capacity 1 % of a grain forage and concentrates is reached owing to use nearby, and all rest is made with waste or the grown up green vegetative weight. Mineral fertilizers are not used at all as there are organic fertilizers much. Dams of ponds build wide, up to 10 meters, they serve for cultivation of grasses (as forage for fishes), vegetables, fruit, here build also pigsties to not transport manure. On sturgeon ponds widely use polyculture, grow up ducks, geese. Commodity sturgeon breeding - profitable and economically perspective direction of fish facilities which intensively develops abroad. In republic it is a lot of reasons of weak development of commodity sturgeon breeding - the imperfect tax-credit policy, absence of the state support, experience and technologies of commodity cultivation, at last, weak knowledge and lack of knowledge at businessmen, farmers and fishermen that such commodity sturgeon breeding and how to create own commodity sturgeon facilities. Bases of designing and creation of commodity sturgeon facilities, biotechnology of cultivation sturgeon, an intensification of fish-breeding process, technology of processing and manufacturing of fish production, realization of a complex of actions on preservation and increase in stocks of sturgeon fishes, including research of a condition of a genofund of sturgeon and other kinds of fishes, measures on preservation and increasein stocks of fishes, due to increase in quantity grown up and let out in the sea молоди, and also commodity sturgeon breeding, creation of a commodity facilities and commodity cultivation sturgeon is not cheap and quick payback process.