ASTRAKHAN — The bottom and resources of the southern part of the Caspian Sea will be divided in the near future on the principles of international law, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Ambassador at Large Igor Bratchikov said at the Sixth Caspian Media Forum on Wednesday.

Meanwhile Interfax reports that Russian and Azerbaijani border guards conduct joint exercise in Caspian Sea. The crew of the Russian patrol ship Brilliant and the crews of the ships and boats of the Azerbaijani State Border Guard Service have practiced fighting illegal migration and biological resources protection in an exercise.

The Caspian basin, as a whole, is usually divided into the northern, middle, and southern Caspian, based partly on underwater relief and partly on hydrologic characteristics. The southwestern and southern Caspian shores are formed of the sediments of the Länkäran and Gīlān-Māzanderān lowlands, with the high peaks of the Talish and Elburz ranges rearing up close inland.

Petroleum and natural gas have become the region’s most important resources. Exploitation began in the 1920s and expanded considerably after World War II and continued to do so into the 21^st century. Seabed oil is extracted using drilling platforms and artificial islands. The most-promising reserves lie under the north-eastern Caspian and its adjacent shores. Minerals such as sodium sulphate, extracted from the Kara-Bogaz-Gol, also have considerable economic importance.

The Caspian long has been famous for its sturgeon, a fish prized for its caviar, and the sea accounts for the great bulk of the world catch. During the long period (1929-77) of water-level decline and consequent drying of the most favourable spawning grounds, the sturgeon population fell considerably. A number of measures, including prohibition of sturgeon fishing in the open sea and the introduction of aquaculture, have been undertaken to improve the situation. The seal industry also has been developed in northern regions mainly for furs.