Caspian Sea Littoral States Hold Meeting on Aquatic Bio-Resources
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The 35th meeting of the Caspian Sea Aquatic Bio-resources Commission concluded in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday, with a number of protocols signed by representatives of five Caspian Sea littoral states.
At the meeting, they extended the ban on the commercial fishing of Sturgeon in 2015 and 2016, and signed a number of protocols to protect these types of fish.
The littoral states agreed that no country would have any quotas for exporting the fish, and that the fish would only be caught for research purposes.
Iran's Deputy Minister of Agricultural Jihad and Head of Iran's Fisheries Organization Hassan Salehi represented the country at the gathering and signed the protocols.
The Commission on Aquatic Bio-resources of the Caspian Sea is an interdepartmental body established in 1992.
Examination of fishing regulations, distribution of scientifically-based quotas among the states, republics, and regions, and discussion of recommendations on improvement of the environmental conditions of the sea basin, on reproduction, and on conservation of bio-resources are among its terms of reference.
The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water by area in the world. Five sovereign Caspian states located on its shores include the Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, and Turkmenistan.
