CASPIAN SEA:
Scientists Deplore OK for Sturgeon Catch
Richard Stone
CAMBRIDGE, U.K.--Marine biologists are livid over an international panel's decision to allow nations to resume fishing beluga sturgeon from the Caspian Sea this year. Quotas were endorsed last week by a policy committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). However, some pressure groups are demanding to see the data CITES officials used to conclude that the beluga, prized for its caviar, can withstand commercial harvesting.