International Caspian Day

Since 2006, the Caspian States have been celebrating the International Day of the Caspian Sea on August 12, designed to draw public attention to its environmental problems.

The establishment of the Caspian Day is connected with the entry into force of the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Caspian Sea and the Environment from Pollution, which was signed by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan.

Within the framework of this Convention, the Republic of Kazakhstan takes the necessary measures to preserve the biological resources of the sea. Thus, research works are organized annually in the Kazakh part of the Caspian Sea within the framework of the budget program to study the current state of commercial fish populations, their habitat conditions, the state of the food base, the dynamics and trends of fishing.

Based on the data of scientific research, the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan annually approves the catch limit of fish resources and other aquatic animals in order to prevent their excessive withdrawal.

In addition, the adverse impact of fishing is prevented by the introduction of restrictions on the timing of the withdrawal of fish resources. Thus, periods of prohibition on fishing have been established in the waters of the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, which is designed to prevent the withdrawal of fish during the spawning period.

At the same time, every year during the spawning of valuable fish species, employees of environmental and law enforcement agencies, in order to ensure the migration of fish, including sturgeon species, to spawning sites, combine efforts to counter illegal fishing and fish trafficking.

Kazakhstan is also taking measures to preserve the unique endemic of the Caspian Sea – the Caspian seal. So, in 2020, the Caspian seal is included in the Red Book of Kazakhstan. This is an additional measure that will contribute to the conservation of the Caspian seal population, and is also one of the important arguments for the creation of a specially protected natural area in the future.

It should be noted that during the Fourth Summit of the Heads of the Caspian States, held on September 29, 2014 in Astrakhan, an Agreement on the conservation and Rational Use of Aquatic Biological Resources of the Caspian Sea was signed, which entered into force on May 24, 2016.

In addition, at one of the meetings in Kazakhstan in 2018, the Caspian States adopted the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, which is also aimed at preserving the biological resources of this unique sea.

At the same time, on June 29, 2022, the Sixth Caspian Summit of the Heads of the Caspian states was held in Ashgabat, which discussed the most important issues of five-sided cooperation in the Caspian Sea of mutual interest.

Thus, the regular nature of the Caspian summits makes it possible to determine the priorities of cooperation in the Caspian Sea and develop common approaches to the implementation of the set goals.

The Committee of Fisheries of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan congratulates everyone on the Caspian Day!

Committee of Fisheries

Ministries of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources

Republic of Kazakhstan