Legislation overview

Following laws and decrees have been applied regarding protection of sturgeon species at national level:

 

Environmental Protection Law ("Official Journal of the Republic of Serbia", no. 135/2004)

Regulates integral system of environmental protection and declares measures, conditions and instruments for sustainable management, conservation of natural equilibrium, integrity, diversity and quality of natural values and conditions for survival of all living creatures. Particular articles of this law regard protection of nature and biodiversity, which also applies to protection of sturgeon species, as an inevitable part of this region's ichtiofauna.

The Acticle 26 appoints measures of biosphere conservation and biodiversity protection, which includes organisms, their communities and habitats, preservation of natural processes and ecosystem stability, in order to ensure sustainability.

The Article 27 proscribes flora and fauna conservation and exploitation measures, control of of non-indigenous species introduction and rearing. Disturbing, mistreating, injuring and destroying of wildlife and their habitats are prohibited. Certain wildlife species, their developmental stages and parts are allowed to be collected and traded under the terms and conditions identified in the permit issued by the relevant Ministry, after evaluation of authorized institution for nature protection. All parties are obliged to pay fees for utilization and trade, proscribed by the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

The Article 28 regulates the trade of endangered species of wild flora and fauna. Import, export and transit are allowed under special conditions and rules, defined by the permit of authorized Ministry, in the way that the survival of the species in the territory of the Republic is not endangered.

The Articles 64 and 65 cover issues related to the preparation of special protective programmes and plans (preparation of national programmes and action plans).

The Law also proscribes sanctions. Financial penalties, according to the Article 116, are determined for the felonies of collection, utilization and trade (import, export, reexport) of particular species, their developmental stages and parts without permit of the Ministry, that is, opposite to conditions determined by the permit. Sanctions for these violations are financial and prison punishment, notified in the Articles 117 and 118.

Republic inspection for the environmental protection, within the Ministry of Science and Environmental Protection – Directorate for Environmental Protection, is authorized for the control and submission of penalties.

Fishery Law ("Off. Journal of the Republic of Serbia", no. 35/94, 38/94)

Proscribes conditions for aquaculture, fish stock protection, fishing, trade and utilization of fish resources. Even if it is not explicitly regulated in this law, protection of sturgeon species is specially regulated by a number of decrees, acts and orders.

Decree on fishing methods, tools and facilities ("Off. Journal of the Republic of Serbia", no. 25/95)

Defines what fishing tools and gears are allowed to be used. In the Article 2 it is stated that the commercial fishing, including fishing of beluga and other sturgeon species, is allowed to be performed by nets and angle tools, but barring following tools: rim nets, basket nets, curtain nets, harrow nets and dragging non baited hooks.

This article does not prohibit use of bottom unbaited hooks, “the carmacs”, for the catch on beluga species, which confirms that the legislation is still out-of-date, inadequate and contrary to the national and international principles of sturgeon protection and conservation.

Order on establishment of the closed season for particular fish species in fisheries district or its parts, and on fishing prohibition for fish under pro scribed size ("Off. Journal of the Republic of Serbia", no. 100/2003)

Establishes closed season for the following sturgeon species, as natural rarities:

1. permanent closed season for ship sturgeon (Acipenser nudiventris), stellate sturgeon (A . stellatus) and Atlantic sturgeon (A . sturio);

2. partially closed season for sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) , from 1 April to 31 May, Russian sturgeon (A . gueldenstaedtii) , from 1 March to 30 September and beluga (Huso huso), from 1 March to 30 September.

Any commercial fishing is prohibited for the period from 1 April to 31 May, except on some non sturgeon species (Carassius auratus, Hypophthalmichthys sp.).

The Decree also prohibits fishing of the specimens that are shorter than the proscribed minimal lenght: for Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedti) 150 cm, for sterlet (A . ruthenus) 30 cm and for beluga (Huso huso) 250 cm.

Decision on establishment of fishery districts ("Off. Journal of the Republic of Serbia", no. 76/94, 11/96, 53/2000, 1/2002, 6/2002)

This Decision defines fishery districts. Sector of the Danube River where anadroumus species (Huso huso, Acipenser stellatus, Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) migrate is defined as a fishery district “Danube IV”. Boundary of this fishery district extends downstream along the right river bank, from 1075 river km to the Timok river mouth on 845 river km. Fishery district “Danube IV” is used for both commercial and sport fishing.

During the period 1947-2000 “Danube IV” was managed by the Fishing Company “Djerdap” from Kladovo. Since 2001, this district is under the supervision of Public Enterprise “Srbijašume”.

Decree on Establishment of Control of Wild Flora and Fauna Exploitation and Trade ("Off. Journal of the Republic of Serbia", no. 31/2005)

This Decree regulates protection of endangered wild species of flora, fauna and fungi, their gathering from natural habitats, utilization, breeding and trade, and determines recompensation for their exploitation. One of the species that are protected by this Decree is beluga (Huso huso). Decree controls overfishing and trade by proscribing allowed quantities (quotas) and fishing rules, as well as by issuing permits for their gathering from natural habitats, under proscribed rules and in particular periods.

According to the Artice 11, collecting of the protected fish species (in this case beluga) is allowed only from 1 June until 31 March of following year.

The Article 12 prohibits collecting, use and trade of male beluga specimens that are shorter than 180 cm and female specimens shorter than 210 cm.

Sanctions in this Decree are defined in the Articles 21 and 23.

Decree on Natural Rarities Protection ("Off. Journal of the Republic of Serbia", no. 50/93, 93/93)

By this Decree, particular wild plant and animal species are placed under I degree of protection as natural rarities, because of their importance and biodiversity conservation. The first degree of protection comprises complete prohibition of utilization, destruction or any other activity that could jeopardize wild species protected as nature rarities and their habitats. This regime of protection includes the following sturgeon species: Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii), Atlantic sturgeon (A . sturio) and stellate sturgeon (A . stellatus).

Moreover, this Decree also specifies sanctions for violations.

Law on ratification of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) ("Off. Journal of the Republic of Serbia", no. 11/2001)

This Law is directly reflected at the national legislation. Once our country has signed the Convention, it was obliged to implement stipulations of this Convention within its jurisdiction (http://www.cites.org).

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates trade (import, export, reexport) of endangered species of wild flora and fauna, their developmental stages, parts and derivates, including sturgeon species as well as their products, mainly caviar. By ratification of this Convention our country accepted responsibility to regulate international trade of caviar, according to CITES.

Basic principles of the Convention are related to the protection of species that are endangered by international trade. Sturgeon species (Acipenseriformes) are listed in the Appendix I and II. Sturgeon species that are present in Serbia are listed in the Appendix II. The Appendix II includes species that may become threatened unless their trade is strictly regulated (http://www.cites.org/eng/prog/sturgeon.shtml).

The CITES parties have declared that protection of sturgeon species should include different management and conservation plans that should be developed, as well as a legislation that should be appliable. Moreover, it is important to develop regional cooperation through agreements, development of labeling system, aquaculture and trade control. These measures are proscribed in the Resolution 12.7 (http://www.cites.org/eng/res/12/12-07R13.shtml).

The Resolution expresses the need for further research and the importance of scientific research, monitoring of the stock status and the understanding of its genetic structure, as a base for a sustainable fishery management. It also defines the universal system of labeling, trade and caviar identification.

The Resolution 12.8 deals with sustainable fishery, conservation measures and related responsibilities of the member states (http://www.cites.org/eng/res/12/12-08R13.shtml).

Regional Strategy for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Sturgeon Populations of the N-W Black Sea and Lower Danube River in accordance with CITES

This strategy results from the agreement between Fishery Management Authorities and CITES Management Authorities from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and Ukraine. By ratifying this Convention, our country accepted responsibility to regulate international trade in sturgeons and their meat and caviar, in compliance with CITES. The 12.7 CITES Resolution (Santiago-Chile, 2002) obliges the parties to promote regional agreements in order to assure the proper management and sustainable utilization of these species.

This strategy defines the aims and recommendations for their realization, the development and improvement of fishery plans and implementation of Strategy by all parties of this agreement.

The strategic goals are:

1) Knowledge on biological features of the sturgeon species, development and application of standardized assessment of all existing sturgeon species;

2) Protection of important habitats;

3) Insight in genetic structure and proper methods of artificial spawning for restocking and reintroduction;

4) Monitoring of fishery load compared to the potentials of sturgeon populations;

5) Development of stock assessment system for different sturgeon species;

6) Improvement of national legislation and ensuring enforcement mechanisms;

7) Adaptive management of sturgeon species;

8) Sturgeon aquaculture development;

9) Development of collaboration and promotional programs for sturgeon protection;

10) Inclusion of economic and social components.

Action Plan for Sturgeon Species Management in Fishery Waters of the Republic of Serbia

The Action Plan is based on guidelines from the 12.7 CITES Conference Resolution (Santiago-Chile 2002). The Convention member states have agreed to developed the Regional strategy for conservation and sustainable management of sturgeon species populations of northwest Black Sea and Lower Danube River according to the CITES Convention (26 November 2003), with the aim to establish sustainable use of sturgeon species and proper management of their populations (http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/sturgeon/activities-romania.html).

Before implementing this Regional Strategy, it was necessary to prepare the National Action Plan that is in concordance with relevant international and national legislation. Measures that are recommended by this Action plan refer to the identification of endangered species and measures of their protection. Plan includes the list of the stress factors and a proposition how to diminish their impact. It covers species that are present in Serbian part of Danube River: beluga, Russian sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, ship sturgeon and sterlet.

This Action Plan was prepared by the Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stankovic" and the Center for Multidisciplinary Studies of the Belgrade University.

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitats - Ramsar Convention ("Official Journal SFRY", no. 9/1977)

The Convention was signed in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, and was ratified by our country in 1977 (http://www.ramsar.org). Starting from 1966 (Resolution VI-2) specific criteria regarding fish species define wetlands as sites of special importance, according to Article 2 (4 and 5) of the Convention. The Resolution IX-4 (November 2005) regulates issues related to protection, rearing and sustainable use of fish resources.

It is recommended that the Parties, especially those using the same resources, should cooperate in implementation of the Convention. The main purpose is establishment of cooperative activities for conservation of wetlands and their fauna (Article 5).

Serbia still did not ratify the following two important environmental conventions, but it is expected to do so soon, since the National Assembly has received the ratification documents on adoption in 2006.

 

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals - Bonn Convention

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (also known as CMS or Bonn Convention) aims at the conservation of terrestrial and marine migratory species (http://www.cms.int/documents/index.htm). The endangered migratory species are listed in the Appendix I of the Convention. The parties strive towards the protection of these animals and their habitats, mitigation of migration obstacles and control of other factors that might put them in danger.

The migratory species that need or would significantly benefit from international cooperation are listed in the Appendix II of the Convention. For this reason, the Convention encourages the Range States to conclude the regional agreements and international cooperation, which includes cooperative scientific research, monitoring and harmonization of the legislation between the Parties.

The sturgeon species are listed in the Appendix II of the Convention, including sturgeon species present in Serbian ichthyofauna. According to the decision of CoP of Bonn Convention in October 2005, the Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) was moved from the Appendix II to the Appendix I, which means that it had become an endangered migratory species.

The Convention aims at saving species, conserving or restoring the places where they live, suspending, eliminating, compensating or mitigating the migration obstacles and controlling other factors that might endanger them.

Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats - Bern Convention

The Bern Convention (or Berne Convention) is a legal international instrument for nature conservation, covering the entire natural heritage of the European continent and extending to some African States. It aims at conserving wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats and at promoting the European cooperation in that field. "...wild flora and fauna constitute a natural heritage of aesthetic, scientific, cultural, recreational, economic and intrinsic value that needs to be preserved and handed on to future generations...". (Preamble to the Bern Convention)

The Appendix II of the Convention includes the strictly protected species, including two sturgeon species, beluga (mediterranean) and Atlantic sturgeon. The Appendix III includes protected species, among them beluga, stellate sturgeon and sterlet.

According to the Recommendation 116 of the Bern Convention in 2005, the sturgeon protection in Danube River Basin has to be achieved by implementing the national action plans.

Two important action plans were adopted as integral parts of the Convention: “Action Plan for the Conservation of Sturgeons (Acipenseridae) in the Danube River Basin” (see text below) and “Action Plan for the conservation and restoration of the European Sturgeon (Acipenser sturio)” (http://www.coe.int/t/e/cultural_co-operation/environment/nature_and_biological_diversity/nature_protection/sc26_inf03rev_en.pdf).

Action Plan for the Conservation of the Sturgeons (Acipenseridae) in the Danube River Basin)

The Sturgeon Action Plan has been jointly prepared by the experts of the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme Office (WWF-DCPO) and the International Association for Danube Research (IAD) and stakeholders, during the workshop in July 2005. The Standing Committee of the Bern Convention adopted the Action Plan in December 2005 in the frame of the European Council.

Together with the already existing instruments, the AP could provide some important tools and mechanisms for the implementation of measures and actions to avoid the complete extinction of sturgeons in the Danube River and the Black Sea.

Measures of the United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Servicе

United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, has declared the trade suspension on beluga ( Huso huso ) caviar and meat from the Black Sea basin. Taking into account that the American caviar market was the biggest one, this act virtually completely blocks the legal ways of caviar trade from this region. This act is basically aimed at reaching market demand by sturgeon aquaculture development.

The Service considers the beluga sturgeon to be threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act effective 21 October 2004). They issued a special rule for beluga sturgeon under section 4(d) of the Act on 5 March 2005. (http://www.fws.gov/policy/library/05-4278.pdf).