隨著裏海吹來的南風，上百隻死魚被沖上位於巴庫東方32公里霍夫桑的海岸。這些魚體就是裏海珍貴但已面臨絕種的鱘魚，因非法盜捕者不分皂白的殺魚方式而成為受害者。
鱘魚受害原因在於，春季時所有魚都會浮游於溫暖的淺水以產卵，而盜捕者就在這裡進行不法炸魚。沿著霍夫桑海岸，可見到業餘漁民以竿子釣魚，但亦有明顯是盜捕者正在準備放置爆炸物。
根據一般漁民表示，過去10年來盜捕者持續在該地點捕魚，且多數不因使用炸藥或以肥料自製爆裂物而受制止。他們會在清晨或深夜乘坐馬達船出海行動。
捕魚是當代亞賽拜然最有利潤的行業之一。黑市裡1公斤的新鮮鱘魚可以10馬耐（當地貨幣相當於12美元）買到，這是相較於1公斤黑魚子醬價值約120馬耐（140美元）。外銷後的價格更可翻漲十幾倍。
聯合國「華盛頓公約組織」（CITES）於2007年解除2006年實施的大白色大鱘魚魚子醬交易禁令，此舉引發廣大環保團體的抗議聲浪。其中監督魚子醬貿易的「拯救鱘魚」組織聯合成立人皮基區博士（Ellen Pikitch）聲稱這個決定是「死亡判決書」，反彈論調是考量近幾年白色大鱘魚已失去高於90%的魚群量。
業餘捕魚者也不樂於見到盜捕者夾在他們和正常釣魚活動之間。45歲的馬克姆道夫（Rizvan Makhmudov）表示：「對我們而言捕魚是休閒，當你的釣魚線勾不上任何東西時，娛樂的意義消失殆盡。」
When a south wind blows from the Caspian Sea towards the coastal village of Hovsan, 32 kilometers (20 miles) east of the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, hundreds of dead fish are washed ashore.
The fish are the victims of illegal poachers and indiscriminate methods of killing their prey that are threatening stocks of sturgeon, an endangered species and the most precious resource of the Caspian.
In spring, all kinds of fish swim for shallow waters in order to spawn caviar in warmer waters. Here they fall prey to illegal explosives used by the poachers.
Along the shoreline you can meet amateur fishermen with rods but also men who are evidently poachers getting ready to lay explosive charges.
The ordinary fishermen say that for the last 10 years poachers have been catching fish on this spot, mostly unhindered and using dynamite or homemade explosives made of fertilizers. They go out fishing in motorboats either early in the morning or late at night.
Fishing is one of the most lucrative businesses in modern day Azerbaijan. On the black market, a kilo of fresh sturgeon can be bought for 10 manats (US$12) while a kilo of black caviar costs around 120 manats (US$140). Overseas, these prices can be dozens of times higher.
CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) lifted the ban in 2007, prompting objections from many environmentalists. One of them, Dr. Ellen Pikitch, co-founder of the organization Caviar Emptor, which monitors the caviar trade, called the decision a "death sentence," maintaining that the Beluga sturgeon has lost more than 90 percent of its population in recent years.
The amateur fisherman are also unhappy about the poachers in their midst. "Fishing is a recreation for us," said Rizvan Makhmudov, 45. "And when your line doesn't catch anything all the recreation has gone."
全文及圖片詳見 ENS報導
