Fighting poachers in Kazakhstan

From April 1 to May 31, 2026, the annual large-scale anti-poaching operation “Bekire” will be held in the Atyrau, Mangystau, and West Kazakhstan regions of Kazakhstan. Over a thousand environmental and law enforcement officers will participate in the operational and preventive measures. 226 vehicles and ATVs, over 90 motor boats and small vessels, and other equipment will be deployed in the Zhaiyk-Caspian basin. Border guards and inspectors will concentrate their efforts along the Caspian Sea coast, in the pre-estuary areas of the Ural and Kigach rivers, where sturgeon are most often illegally caught during the spring spawning season, and Caspian seals are entangled in poachers’ nets.

According to Press Service of the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan, in 2025, Kazakhstani border guards prevented 607 cases of poaching in the Caspian Sea, seizing 226 vessels, 580 kilometers of fishing nets, 2 376 sturgeons,  7 193 other fishes, and 24 Caspian seals. Seven dead seals were found in fishing nets near Kulaly Island in the Tyuleniy Islands archipelago. In 2024, border guards prevented 390 cases of poaching in the Kazakhstan sector of the Caspian Sea, seized 196 vessels, 536 km of fishing nets, 1 994 sturgeons (11 379 kg), 87 814 other fishes (98 296 kg), and 117 Caspian seals.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Border Service of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 24 kz,   Forbes.
In the photo: A border guard releases a sturgeon into the sea. Bekire-2024 Campaign, the Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan. Credited by Altainews.