The Caspian Sea has traditionally been the world’s main source of caviar, but pollution and overfishing has caused serious problems for the fish in this enormous lake and yields are dwindling at a worrisome pace. The Caspian crisis is now prompting an increasing number of restaurants and importers to switch to Israeli caviar instead.

Sturgeon in pond – Not the facility talked about in the article

In Israel, Ossetra sturgeon (Acipenser persicus / Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) is commercially farmed at the Kibbutz Dan close to the Lebanese border, using eggs imported from the Caspian Sea. Compared to caviar from the Beluga sturgeon (Huso huso), Ossetra caviar – also known as Osetra or Asetra caviar – is firmer in texture and has the most variety in terms of size, color and flavor.

Kibbutz Dan began their Ossetra project in 2003, when caviar prices skyrocketed and made sturgeon roe even more expensive than before. The idea was not primarily to export caviar, but to satisfy the demands of the large Russian-Israeli population, according to Ben Tzvi at Kibbutz Dan. The location of the sturgeon fish farm is well chosen since it can use water from the snow-fed river Dan, a principal source of the river Jordan.

Under normal conditions, a female Ossetra sturgeon will not become sexually mature until she is around 15 years old, but Israeli biologist Avshalom Hurvitz has managed to make female sturgeons commence egg-laying at an age of just 8 or 9 years.

So, is sturgeon roe really kosher? Since the sturgeon is considered a scale-less fish, it is seen as forbidden food according to traditional Jewish dietary laws. However, according to Berta Levavi-Sivan, a scientist at the Hebrew University and a participant in the sturgeon-rearing project, the sturgeon fish is actually equipped with tiny scales – it is has only been considered a scale-less fish because the scales are too small to bee seen with the naked eye.

Credit: NMFS File Photo

Russia has proposed a five year long ban on fishing sturgeon in the Caspian Sea, News.com.au reports. According to non-governmental organisation Caviar Emptor, the Beluga Sturgeon population has declined by 90 percent during the last 20 years. Russia has suggested that all countries bordering the Caspian should impose a ban and that the ban should last for at least five years. According to Andrei Krainy, head of Russia’s state fisheries agency, Russia is ready to ban even scientists from fishing sturgeon in the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea is home to roughly 90 percent of the total sturgeon population. The sturgeon is primarily fished for its caviar eggs, a world-famous delicates.

You can read the full article here: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23444657-1702,00.html

The Caspian Sea is an enormous body of water without any outflows. Its coastline is shared by Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Its salinity is about 1.2%, while the average salinity of the ocean is 3.5%. The Caspian Sea is fed by over 130 rivers, including the famous Russian river Volga which is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, watershed and discharge. The Caspian Sea is home to several endemic species of fish, such as the Caspian roach and the Caspian white fish (also known as Kktum). The Caspian Sea is also where you will find the Caspian seal, one of very few seal species that live in inland waters instead of living in the ocean.