Azerbaijan, Baku, May 27 / Trend I.Isabalayeva /
Iran will pass the chairmanship in the Caspian Sea Water Bioresources Commission to Azerbaijan in November, Tariel Mammadli, a permanent member of the Commission, advisor to the Department for Reproduction and Protection of Water Biological Resources of the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry told Trend.
Azerbaijan will be charged with the chairmanship of the Caspian Sea Water Bioresources Commission for two years. Baku will host a meeting of the Caspian countries in November in this regard. The meeting will also discuss the issue of introducing a general ban - a moratorium on the commercial sturgeon fishing in the sea for the Caspian countries.
All Caspian littoral states agreed on the moratorium, Mammadli said. Almaty has already held the first meeting with the participation of five countries, and developed the concept. The relevant document should be signed to apply the moratorium.
No quotas will be distributed among the Caspian littoral states in 2011 in connection with the moratorium.
Mammadli said the fishing quota for 2010 for Azerbaijan was 70 tons and black caviar - 6,300 kg.
The Caspian Sea Water Bioresources Commission comprises five littoral states - Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Iran joined the commission in 2002, while the remaining countries joined the commission since its establishment in 1992. Its primary goal is efficient use of water bioresources of the Caspian Sea, development and implementation of special measures aimed at raising and protection of fishery resources. The Commission annually determines the national sturgeon fishing quotas for each of the five countries, and also determines the amount of export quotas of meat and roe of sturgeon with a view to submit them for approval to the Secretariat of the CITES Convention (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Endangered species).
Russia chaired the committee in 2003-2004, Kazakhstan in 2005 - 2006, Turkmenistan in 2007 - 2008 and Iran in 2009 - 2010.