The United States banned the imports of beluga fish and caviar from Russia and other Black Sea countries, including Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey and Ukraine, on Friday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.

The U.S. administration made a similar decision about beluga caviar imports from the Caspian Sea region, including Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton said on Friday the ban would be in effect until major progress is made in the protection of valuable fish species in the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

She said the United States wanted to draw international public attention to the predatory consumption of beluga and encourage cooperation in the protection of the beluga populace.
Local ecologists say that the beluga population has reduced by 90% in recent 25 years because of predatory fishing and environmental pollution. Washington asked countries exporting caviar about measures they are taking to protect beluga. Obviously, the response did not satisfy the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

According to the official statistics, the annual legal trade in beluga caviar makes $100 million, 60% of that in the United States. Experts say that the illegal trade yearly tops $1 billion, reports ITAR-TASS.
Source RZD Partner