1.2 Socio-Economic Driving Forces

1.2.1.6 Fishery

Over many centuries, humans have fished the Black, Caspian and Azov seas, but this usage was not strong enough to cause the destruction of natural ecosystems. Some thirty years ago, these sea basins were rich in fish stocks. They supplied the Caucasus region, but also Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and their food industries. Nevertheless, the situation has changed last decades. High anthropogenic pressures on marine ecosystems have resulted in decreased amounts of commercial fish species and total ichthyic fauna. New settlements, water pollution (with ballast and inflow waters), waste dumpsites located on the coast, building of hydro-technical facilities, over fishing, poaching, etc. have destroyed species habitats, natural breeding grounds and migration routes. Bio-accumulation of chemical substances has been observed among Black Sea fish and mollusks. This itself increased the risks for the food chain and resultant threat to human beings.

The volume of fish catch in the 1970s-80s reached such a big size that this factor significantly affected the water bodies of the region and the ecosystems of the adjacent seas. Deterioration of water quality at the same time caused the reduction of overall volume of bio-organisms and the degradation of ecosystems. Thus, already in the beginning of the 1990s a drastic reduction of commercially exploited fish in the waters of the Caspian, Azov and Black Seas, once very rich in ichtyofauna, was clearly seen. For instance the number of commercial fish in the Black Sea for over past 30-year period was reduced from 24 to 3-4 species by 1990 (G.Info, 1996).

The general economic collapse was followed by a dramatic reduction in the overall volume of fishing. During recent years commercial fishing in the Azov Sea has declined by a factor of 10 times relative to the 1970s and 80s (Grigolia G., 1996). Twenty years ago in coastal area of Dagestan along the Caspian Sea 20-25 thousand tons of sturgeon were caught every year. For the past twenty years, the sturgeon catch has been reduced by 90% (IUCN, 2000). The situation is similar in Azerbaijan, where in 1991-1996 overall fish catch in the Caspian Sea declined from 39.7 thousand to 6.9 thousand tons (IUCN, 2000). Decline in fish catch was particularly acute in Georgia. In 1992, the overall volume of fishing decreased by a factor of 50 compared to 1990.

Nevertheless, illegal fish catch has significantly increased in many places of the Caucasus, particularly the catch of commercial species like sturgeon, salmon, trout and others. Although the catch of valuable fish species is regulated by existing legislation, actual law enforcement is weak.

Aquatic ecosystems, including fish, are also affected by so-called "putting in nets" which are used by poachers. This practice is rather common in the Black Sea. The victims of the nets are frequently big mammals - even dolphins. The problem becomes more severe due to the fact that such nets are very often lost during storms. As a result, fish caught in the net perish and decay. Thus, because of poaching fish stocks have not only declined, but also have lost their quality.

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