Sturgeon - Aaron Gustafson

OK you fish egg fanatics, some good news – black caviar can once again be purchased for your upscale parties. It is available on the shelves in Russia for the first time since it was taken off the menu back in 2007.

It was taken off the market in Russia due to concern for the survival of the sturgeon, who were under constant attack from poachers for the delectable delicacy.

However, now it is back on the market, even though the sturgeon is not yet out from under the cloud of extinction, and officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the competition in the commercial market may just help put an end to the black market of black caviar.

The ban on the sale of black caviar was supposed to help encourage people to start caviar farms – what can we say, good old Russian logic – which were supposed to use breeding techniques approved during the reign of the Soviet Union.

That being the case, black caviar farms remained under developed in Russia, and only one out of every five of them actually produces the delectable black tidbits. The rest of the black caviar comes from smuggling and poaching operations, Itogi reported.

After three years going down this path proved to not be getting the desired effect as the demand for the black caviar simply made prices skyrocket, and cases of poaching and smuggling became more abundant.

While black caviar has been put back on the market, the red caviar is expected to be the choice this Christmas and New Years’, given that the price is much easier on the purse strings.

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.

The sturgeon on the picture is not the sturgeon in the story
Photo by NOAA

A four year old boy got his arm broken by a jumping sturgeon on the Suwannee River on September 7. At the same time, the boy’s father was cut by the fish. According to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, witnesses observed the family’s boat moving through the water at about 30 miles per hour when a three to four foot long sturgeon jumped up from the water in front of the craft. The sturgeon shattered the boat’s windshield and cut 32-year old Christopher Howard before smashing into his four year old son Chandler Howard. The impact was severe enough to break the arm of the young boy.

The Suwannee River is home to a major sturgeon population. According to state biologists, about 6,500-7,000 specimens spend up to 9 months per year in the river. Since their average weight is 40 lbs (18 kg) and the largest specimens caught in the Suwannee weigh about 200 lbs (90 kg), these sturgeons can cause serious injury to humans when jumping up from the water at high speed.

Detroit Sky Line (picture by: Keith Syvinski)

The opportunity to reclaim once flourishing breeding grounds is now looking good for the sturgeon in the Detroit River. These massive fish that live over 100 years and can grow over 7 feet, are being given a helping hand in finding love. Once fished to near extinction, the sturgeon have fought against the odds to stay around; the pollution and runoff into the Detroit River however, destroyed their breeding grounds; but now years of Detroit River restoration efforts have finally provided clean water for breeding to be done in. The next step, rebuilding a breeding reef for the sturgeon to lay their eggs and rear their fry. The reef will cost a whopping $178,000, which has been paid for through foundations, the government, and other institutions.

To read this article in its entirety visit : http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804280360

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.