[Source: UAE Interact ]

An unlicensed plant in Ajman has been referred to Ajman Police for legal action for illegal trade in caviar. During a raid, officials of the Ministry of Environment and Water and Ajman Municipality found that the plant was processing and trading in caviar, in breach of the federal law for regulating and controlling species listed in the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, (CITES). Caviar is the eggs of sturgeons, a group of fish which have been declared as endangered by CITES. 

Officials found during the raid that the plant had supplies of caviar which had been illegally imported into the country from unknown sources of origin and which had no import permits issued by the UAE's CITES Management Authority. All the caviar found was seized. 

The UAE is intensifying its efforts against illegal trade in endangered species in line with Federal Law No. (11) for 2002 which was issued to enforce the CITES Convention and to help identify strict legal procedures to control illegal trade in wildlife trade and penalise violators. According to the law, all specimen of, or products of, endangered species included in the Appendices require a CITES certificate from the country of origin, in addition to the prior issue of an export or re-export permit from the UAE CITES Authority. (Emirates News Agency, WAM)