
CITES
Is trade in sturgeons a risk to wild populations?
Publishing: 02.06.2025
Key message:
VKM shall assess the impact international trade in sturgeons and sturgeon products has on wild populations of sturgeons.
The Norwegian Environment Agency has commissioned the risk assessment to use it for processing permits on import and export of sturgeons and sturgeon products (e.g., caviar) to and from Norway.
Objectives
The risk assessment will be conducted based on the criteria given in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The focus of the assignment is primarily on species of sturgeons (Acipenseriformes spp.) that have been imported to or exported from Norway since 2013.
VKM will assess available knowledge about distribution, life history, habitat, ecological roles, and population trends. VKM will also assess the extent of legal and illegal harvesting, trade, and of breeding in captivity, while evaluating the threat that trade poses to the survival of these species.
Project group
- Eli K. Rueness, Panel on CITES (Chair of the Project Group)
- Hugo de Boer, Panel on CITES
- Berit Gehrke, Panel on CITES
- Eva Thorstad, Panel on Biodiversity
- Daniel Flø, VKM Secretariat
- Tilde K. S. Hjermann, VKM Secretariat (Project Manager)
The risk assessment is subject to approval by the Panel on CITES and is scheduled to be published on 2 June 2025.
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