FAO Fisheries Circular No. 990

FAO Fisheries Circular No. 990

World Markets and Industry of Selected Commercially-Exploited Aquatic Species with an International Conservation Profile

by
Camillo Catarci
Consultant
FAO Fisheries Department

   
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 2004
   
 
Table of Contents

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ISSN 0429-9329

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© FAO 2004


Catarci, C.

World markets and industry of selected commercially-exploited aquatic species with an international conservation profile.

FAO Fisheries Circular. No. 990. Rome, FAO. 2004. 186p.

ABSTRACT

Over time, the international community has launched initiatives aimed at improving the conservation status of commercially-exploited aquatic species. The four separate studies in this report target four species or groups of species with an international conservation profile and which are traditionally under-represented in market and industry literatures. These species are sturgeons (Acipenseriformes), Caribbean queen conch (Strombus gigas), sharks (Chondrychthyes) and Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides). The sturgeon and caviar industry is a commercial one, with traditionally high capture and export patterns. The queen conch fishery is an important provider of employment and income among fishing communities in the Western Central Atlantic area. The shark fishery is a relatively large and financially important one. Sharks are mainly taken as bycatch of other commercial fisheries such as tuna and billfishes. The Patagonian toothfish is exploited by an industrial fishery which is concentrated in the southernmost areas of the Atlantic and the Pacific and in Antarctic waters.



Table of Contents


Foreword

Main findings of the study

Acknowledgements

List of abbreviations

Executive summary

Sturgeons (Acipenseriformes)

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Sturgeons and caviar

Background information on sturgeon

Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) and Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus)
Starry sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus)
Beluga (Huso huso)
Other significant Acipenseriformes

The sturgeon and caviar industry

From the myth to the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Overview of the modern sturgeon industry (from the dissolution of the Soviet Union to the present)

The decline of catches in the nineties
The emergence of a new player: the aquaculture industry
The main caviar importing countries

The CITES regime on Acipenseriformes
The prices

The sturgeon and caviar industry in selected producing and exporting countries

Azerbaijan
Iran
Kazakhstan
Russian Federation

Conclusions
References

Caribbean queen conch (Strombus gigas)

Acknowledgements
Background
Queen conch fisheries and the international regime
Queen conch landings and international trade
Captive breeding
Conch hatcheries
The queen conch fisheries in range states

Bahamas
Belize
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Jamaica
Mexico
Turks and Caicos Islands

Conclusions
References

Sharks (Chondrichthyes)

Acknowledgements
Background
An introduction to chondrychthyans
World production of chondrichthyans
Main commercially-exploited shark species

Sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus)
Basking shark (Cethorhinus maximus)
Tope shark (Galeorhinus galeus)
Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Porbeagle (Lamna nasus)
Smooth-hounds (Mustelus spp.)
Blue shark (Prionace glauca)
Whale shark (Rhincodon typus)
Piked dogfish (Squalus acanthias)

Main shark commodities

Exports of shark commodities
Imports of shark commodities
Fins

The world market for shark fins

Prices of shark commodities

An analysis of main shark exporting countries

China
Costa Rica
Indonesia
Japan
Senegal
Spain
Yemen

Conclusions
References

Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides)

Acknowledgements
Background
The Patagonian toothfish industry

The range states

Argentina

The Dissostichus fishery in the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas

Chile

Conclusions
References


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