Iran Proposes War of 'Comb Jellies' in Caviar Sea
Date: 26-Feb-04
Country: IRAN
The "Mnemiopsis," a ctenophore or comb jelly, dubbed "the Monster" by fishermen, has decimated stocks of small, anchovy-like "kilka" by gobbling up the minuscule plankton on which the kilka feeds.
Caspian sturgeon, which produce most of the world's caviar, feed on kilka.
Mnemiopsis is only 2 inches in length but it can produce 8,000 offspring a day.
Iran has long considered introducing another comb jelly, "Beroe Ovata," which feeds on its ravenous cousins and will table the proposal at this week's conference of the five Caspian states.
"The only way to fight the predatory comb jellies is biological," said an Iranian delegate at the meeting between Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
"Research has been carried out and we believe we can find a solution by bringing the "Beroe Ovata" from the Black Sea," the unnamed fisheries official told state television.
The hated "Mnemiopsis" is not native to the Caspian but was carried there in ships' hulls.
Scientists have said introducing "Beroe Ovata" which, like all ctenophores is differentiated from jellyfish by its lack of stinging cells, would be ecologically safe. The question is whether it can survive in the less salty waters of the Caspian.
