Comm: "Out in the northern reaches of Caspian Sea where Russia borders Kazakhstan, there's a war going on - and it's all over a fish. One of the world's largest and most ancient fishes is dying out in its last stronghold. An epic struggle is being played out between competing gangs of poachers and the police."

Andrei Kourotchkine: "I'll tell you something from my experience. When the Prime Minister came down here and the ban started the police were bombing fishermen in the sea from helicopters, burning their boats - Yeah, shooting them from helicopters! Throwing bombs!"

Dr Labon: "Every few metres along the canals of the Volga and along the shore of the Caspian, wherever fish can be caught, there are fishing devices set by poachers on a large scale, which don't give the fish any chance."

Comm: "The stakes are high because this is no ordinary fish. It is the sturgeon, a unique species prized for its flesh, but most of all for its black, glistening roe, better known as caviar. Just one giant beluga sturgeon, brimming with caviar can be worth up to $30,000 on the international market.

"It is 'hard currency with fins'."

"This week on Earth Report, we uncover the story of how the sturgeon has been brought to the brink of extinction after 250 million years on the planet and what can be done to save it.

"The sturgeon has long been coveted by humanity - there is evidence that caviar was eaten by ancient Egyptians, and that Aristotle was a fan. But what exactly is it about caviar?

"It's something very special to taste the caviar, because of the taste, because of the nature of the fish, the rarity of the fish, the texture of the eggs - it's something you don't forget when you taste it once. It's kind of a drug actually, when you start it you can't stop it

"Caviar Kaspia in London's swanky Mayfair district has been serving caviar to the rich and famous for many years.

"But for how much longer?

"The sturgeon is a fish of superlatives: It has been around since the time of the dinosaurs. Some species can live for up to 150 years, reach 6 metres in length and weigh in at over one and a half tonnes. Sturgeons grow slowly, only reaching maturity after 15 to 20 years, which means they need protection for longer against overfishing.

"90% of the world's sturgeon are now found in the Caspian Sea. Until 1991, control of the Caspian was shared between only two countries. Since the break up of the Soviet Union, the fate of the sea has been in the hands of: Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran.

"Sturgeon was first commercially fished in the Caspian Sea in the early 1800s.

"During the Soviet era, sturgeon fishing and caviar production became truly industrial in scale. By the late 70s over 25,000 tonnes of sturgeon were caught each year."Klavdia Reshetnikova has lived in Russia at the edge of the Caspian sea all her life."

Clare Richards: "From the age of 15 I went to work in the fish factory, then when I was 16 I went to sea. There was plenty of fish in the sea in those days. Then came the war. All the fish was sent to the front. Lots of fish. There were fish everywhere."

Comm: "Klavdia's village lies where the mighty Volga river ends its long journey through the heart of Russia and flows out into the Caspian sea.

"Every spring the Volga swells with melted snow and floods. The surrounding countryside bursts with new life..."

"Traditionally the months of April to June is when tens of thousands of sturgeon, laden with caviar, make their way up the river to spawn.

"Naturally, this is a good time to catch them.

"These were typical scenes ten years ago in the Volga delta.

"It's now spring 2001 and it's peak fishing season. In Kirovski, villagers are hauling in fish, 24 hours a day.

"But there are virtually no sturgeon in their nets. In fact, there is a serious decline in all types of fish."

Nick Rance: "'This is really bad - there's only about 100 kilos here. It's not normal for such a big net. There aren't many fish in the river now, even though it's spring. The fish should be coming up these channels to spawn."

Clare Richards: "Of course now there are very few fish. As for the sturgeon - you could say there are none. And I wonder where they are. I reckon it's the police. They go to the sea in boats and intercept the fish there, so there's nothing left for the fishermen.

"Now my son is fishing in the sea, and he says it is not so good out there - it is a terrible situation. Those police just don't let the fish come up river. Now you'll record it all and they'll put me in jail!"

Comm: "Recently the official business of processing caviar in Russia has been taken over by two companies in the city of Astrakhan.

"There has been an 80 per cent reduction in the amount of caviar produced legally since the 1980s.

"Salt acts as both a preservative and a curing agent on the caviar. After the salt 'curing', the eggs become firmer.

"The Gustera fish factory in Astrakhan has been processing fish on a large scale since 1830. For most of that time, the sturgeon was by far the most important fish. It brought great prosperity to the region.

"But three years ago the sturgeon was abandoned. Now the conveyor belts are filled with less valuable freshwater fish from the Volga, such as catfish.

"The rooms where caviar was once packed into jars for export all over the world are now used for filleting carp and pikeperch."

Dr. Labon: "The first blow, as I usually say, to the sturgeon population was dealt in the 1960s - early 1960s because of two events. The first one was the damming of the Volga river which is the main habitat and used to be the main spawning ground for sturgeon.

"And the second blow was dealt when a ban on fishing in the sea was introduced and fishing started in the mouth of the rivers because then all the mature fish migrating for spawning was caught out by man. And therefore, since the late 70s, early 80s there is a rapid and dramatic decline in the sturgeon population."

Comm: "Decades of overfishing on an epic scale has clearly been key to the sturgeon's demise, but now the blame has shifted to the illegal 'freelance fishermen."

Dr. Labon: "I consider poaching at the present time is the main threat to sturgeons."

Comm: "Each of the 5 countries around the Caspian has internationally agreed quotas on the amount of sturgeon which can be caught.

"It is hardly surprising when there are such huge amounts of money to be made.

"In Azerbaijan the average monthly wage is 40 US dollars - and a kilo of beluga caviar sells in this market for 100 dollars. If they are lucky, fishermen can find well over a kilo of roe in a single fish.

"In London's most exclusive restaurants, beluga caviar sells for over 6000 dollars a kilo.

"The price of sturgeon meat and caviar has increased in Azerbaijan, reflecting its rarity. But there is still a brisk demand for it.

"There has always been a certain amount of poaching in the Caspian, but in recent years the scale of it has increased dramatically. Catching sturgeon in the shallow waters around the mouth of the Volga has become a free-for-all for anyone with a boat and a line of hooks. Sturgeon are bottom-feeding fish and they can easily be caught, often without bait.

"This man is involved in the illegal caviar trade. He asked for identity to be disguised."

Andrei Kourotchkine: "You pull it up and see if there is a sturgeon on the hooks. If there is one, you pull it out and the sturgeon starts to cry like a little child. Have you ever heard it?

"It's becoming more and more common that when you bring the fish in, the clients are already waiting for you on the bank - and the majority of them are policemen. They buy it - yeah it's true. It's horrible what's happening there now. Cops are shooting cops because of this caviar. If you enter someone else's territory they'll shoot you and you'll probably wash up somewhere the next day, if you're not eaten by catfish."

Comm: "In another part of Astrakhan sits Lieutenant Colonel Raphael Galiskarov, Head of the Police Information Service.

"Any meeting with a poacher has a certain amount of danger, because the buccaneers are seriously well equipped these days - their boats have powerful Japanese motors. Sometimes the poachers physically resist. There have been cases when they've opened fire on the police and people working for the fish protection organisations.

"The poachers use all kinds of concealed containers and false documents. A lot depends on the traffic inspectors. If you look carefully you can find every type of illegal fish product being smuggled: caviar, fresh sturgeon, smoked sturgeon - you name it. It's in practically every single car that leaves the Astrakhan region

"Caviar is a valuable product and it's of great importance for the country's exports. It's hard currency which can greatly influence the economic situation in this region, if it is used properly and legally.

"But since most of the caviar is smuggled from here by poachers and criminals, the region suffers big losses. If everything was done legally it would be great."

Andrei Kourotchkine: "What's wrong with it? We're just helping people. We explain to them if the stuff is good or not.

"And our prices are a lot lower than in the shops.

"Anyway, since the ban started, all the shops were shut, and now it is only us unofficial guys who are actually selling caviar here."

Comm: "Controlling the illegal trade in sturgeon and caviar is a huge task for the Russian police, the Volga delta alone is vast - over 20,000 sq kilometres and there are literally thousands of creeks and channels.

"But the net is now tightening around the poachers.

"The Russian Prime Minister, Mr Kasianov visited Astrakhan this spring. Since then there has been a major crackdown on illegal fishing. Even the small official catch has been severely restricted.

"No one is certain about how many sturgeon are left in the Caspian and surrounding rivers, but most scientists and politicians agree the situation is now critical.

"If no strong measures are taken in the course of this year: 2001 we can say goodbye to the sturgeon in the next 4-5 years - not more than that.

"But there are arguments about how long a complete ban on catching sturgeon should be enforced for."

Dr Labon: "There are talks that a moratorium should be introduced for not more than 2 years but it sounds like lip service or eyewashing."

"If maturity is reached anytime between the 9^th and 20^th year what does a moratorium of 2 years help the fish to mature? It's just abstract - it's misleading."

Comm: "Starting and enforcing a ban on sturgeon fishing will depend on the governments of the Caspian countries agreeing to work together."

Robert McGowan: "A moratorium won't be introduced until all five states sign the agreement on the biological resources of the Caspian Sea. To start with there has to be a mechanism of how this moratorium is going to work - there should be a permanent committee with a representative from each of the five countries with its own enforcement agency.

"Only after that, can a moratorium actually be enforced. If there is no unified organisation - it simply isn't going to work."

Comm: "But getting committees together takes time. The five countries still haven't managed to reach full agreement over their territorial borders in the Caspian after more than 10 years of negotiation.

"And time is running out for the sturgeon.

"The beluga sturgeon is now so rare that only 100 a year are said to be caught in the Caspian. They have become museum pieces.

"Local scientists now believe that all, 100 per cent - of the belugas alive today in the Caspian have been artificially introduced: from hatcheries.

"The Soviet authorities invested in an enormous artificial sturgeon breeding programme in the 1950s to compensate for the destruction of natural spawning grounds. Hatcheries were built all round the Caspian.

"Many have now closed or are working at reduced capacity. BIOS is one which is thriving.

"BIOS and hatcheries like it in Russia and Iran represent the last glimmer of hope for the sturgeon

"They extract sperm from the fish and mix it with eggs from the brood stock.

"As well as releasing millions of fry, they nurture sturgeon for fish farms around the world, including fast-growing hybrids such as besters. They are a cross between the beluga and the sterlet. It's good business now that wild sturgeon are so rare.

"Scientists from the Caspian Fishery Research Institute claim that Russian hatcheries release 50 to 60 million sturgeon fry a year into the Caspian. But there is little information about what their survival rate is. And there are real concerns about the how the natural genetic diversity of sturgeon is being diluted by artificially bred fish.

"In the other former Soviet countries, many of the hatcheries are in a very run-down state. This one in Azerbaijan has been starved of investment for years...

"But this is all set to change. The Azerbaijan State Fisheries Corporation is on the verge of being privatized and a bold new venture is waiting in the wings.

"The Caspian Fish Company is a huge, multi million dollar fish processing plant on the outskirts of Azerbaijan's capital, Baku.

"Once it is up and running they aim to process 300 tonnes of fish a day, plus caviar.

"Could big business actually be the key to the sturgeon's survival, irrespective of whether there is a moratorium?

Dr Labon: "I believe that a moratorium by itself under the present circumstances would not produce the expected results.

"Simply law enforcement is not strong enough compared to the poachers to really take care of poaching. And what we are advocating is the establishment of monopolies. By definition state licensed or state controlled - but it should be private - the way spirits are produced in this country or monopolies to mine diamonds work in other parts of the world and in Russia as well. The monopoly should have the right to fish, process and sell but at the same time should have the obligation to produce juveniles for stock enhancement, and should have the privilege to defend its interests from illegal operations. They would introduce real rational management of the resources compared to just free for all - catch as much as you can."

Comm: "The management of Caspian Fish Co are bullish about their prospects - as anyone who has just spent over 80 million dollars on a business venture might well be."

M. Ahadpour: "We decided to try to centralise fish industry of Azerbaijan into this factory.

"One of the other things that Caspian Fish co will take on board is all the hatcheries of Azerbaijan and we will update them and we will make sure that in the next 3 years we will increase the number of fishes that we put today into the sea - which is around 20 million fish -. In the next 3 years we are going to make this number near to 100 million and above.

"We are going to issue licences for fishermen. Whoever is caught without licence for fishing is going to be dealt with by the law of the country.

"It is absolutely in our interest to control catching of the fish and making sure there are enough fishes in the Caspian sea, safely for very long years to come so this factory can work.

"But it might be too late for the sturgeon, even if a moratorium could be enforced immediately."

Comm: "It is almost inconceivable that the sturgeon has existed for 250 million years, but we've managed to bring it to the brink of extinction in little more than a century.

"What happens over the next few years will decide its ultimate fate."