The Legal Regime of Fisheries Management in the Caspian Sea

The collapse of the Soviet Union created a legal vacuum in relation to fisheries management of the Caspian Sea which resulted in the steady decline of its living resources. In particular, the Caspian Sea’s valuable stocks of sturgeon were endangered to the point of extinction. The critical situation of the sturgeon stocks led to the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES Convention) with respect to these stocks. This convention effectively brought trade in Caspian sturgeon under international supervision. Meanwhile, efforts by the Caspian coastal states to fill the vacuum of a fisheries management regime produced the 2014 Agreement on Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Aquatic Biological Resources of the Caspian Sea. This agreement lays down a new fisheries management regime for the Caspian Sea. Furthermore, the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, which was signed in 2018 by the five presidents of Caspian states, adds new elements to the fisheries management regime as it will establish various maritime zones in the Caspian Sea. The main question of this paper is: what is the legal regime of fisheries management in Caspian Sea? The findings of this study suggest that the necessary legal framework for the integrated and institutionalized management of the Caspian Sea’s living resources has been established but the efficacy of the new regime depends on the adoption and implementation of effective conservation and management measures by the Caspian coastal states.