Chapter 80 Question ○71

Why did the disintegration of the Soviet Union cause the production of caviar in the Caspian Sea to drop sharply? (Thomas Gretel) For gourmets all over the world, there is nothing more delicious than Caspian Sea caviar.One of the rarest and most precious caviar comes from the Siberian sturgeon.This fish is thirty feet long, weighs more than eighteen hundred pounds, and can live for more than a hundred years.Siberian sturgeon caviar has always been expensive, but it's relatively easy to buy.However, since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, the supply of caviar has plummeted and the price has soared.What has actually happened?

The Caspian Sea is now bordered by Iran and four former Soviet republics: Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.Prior to 1989, the central governments of Iran and the Soviet Union tightly controlled commerce in the Caspian Sea.They legislated to ban the catch of the smaller sturgeon, avoiding the tragedy of the commons.After the collapse of the Soviet Union, governments were no longer able to maintain tight controls, and fishermen realized that the old practices were no longer economically viable.They don't fish for sturgeon, others do. To limit pollution and overfishing in the Caspian Sea, Russia and Iran are once again cooperating.However, buyers are likely to continue to pay the high price of $160 an ounce for sturgeon caviar.

Laws affect not only the way people dispose of property, but also the development of social institutions.In particular, it helps us understand why some institutions are organized as privately owned for-profit corporations while others are publicly funded nonprofit organizations.