Support for laboratories and offices is virtually nonexistent. Funding for the program comes from Amoco Corporation. We investigate the effects of oil pollution and industrial wastes on terrestrial and aquatic organisms. These studies include laboratory experiments designed to test the acute toxicity and damage to DNA caused by exposure to contaminated sediments from Baku Harbor and the industrial center of Sumgait. Baku Harbor is heavily contaminated with crude oil that leaks from various sources, especially from the nearby oil fields and a refinery.
Sturgeon represent an important source of foreign capital for Azerbaijan.
The catch has declined steadily since the 1930s as a result of overfishing, poaching, pollution, and damming of the spawning rivers. The Kura River provides a good example of the problems faced by the fishery. This is the largest river in Azerbaijan and historically has served as a spawning habitat for the six native Caspian Sea sturgeon species. The river is polluted as a result of agricultural practices in Azerbaijan and mining and industrial activities in Georgia and Armenia. Two dams on the Kura River in Azerbaijan have an even greater impact on the sturgeon populations.