Harare, 19 June 1997 (RFE/RL) - A world conference on endangered species today placed restrictions on the trade of 23 species of sturgeon -- the fish whose eggs are better known as caviar.
Officials at the ten-day Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Harare, Zimbabwe said the conference had accepted a proposal sponsored by the United States and Germany to help protect the valuable fish.
Leading environmentalists say the sturgeon has come under threat from poaching and overfishing in the Caspian Sea basin.
Correspondents say policing the new rules could prove difficult as the rivers used by the migratory fish pass through Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, all of which are not members of CITES.
Officials at the ten-day Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Harare, Zimbabwe said the conference had accepted a proposal sponsored by the United States and Germany to help protect the valuable fish.
Leading environmentalists say the sturgeon has come under threat from poaching and overfishing in the Caspian Sea basin.
Correspondents say policing the new rules could prove difficult as the rivers used by the migratory fish pass through Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, all of which are not members of CITES.