EU under pressure to regulate caviar trade
The alarming increase in the trade in black market caviar, mostly from Russia, has prompted the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to issue a ban on the trade of caviar to protect the fish from which it comes - the sturgeon. Caviar is the unfertilised roe from the sturgeon. It has been long associated with luxury and commands exorbitant prices on both the open and black markets. Almas caviar, or 'black gold', is worth up to 30,000 euro per kilo on the open market. The EU is the world's largest importer of caviar. The history of the consumption of caviar is fascinating - fishermen were thought to have originally thrown the caviar to their pigs to eat once the sturgeon was caught. When the Russian aristocracy developed a taste for the stuff, the price soared as the availability diminished. The sturgeon is also the source of high-quality isinglass, used in the clarification of wine and beer. The sturgeon fish is itself an enigma - it does not resemble a modern fish, and has a reptilian, prehistoric look, reflecting the immense age of the species - it has been around for some 300 million years. The sturgeon can live for 100 years, and it is not covered in scales as modern fish are. Because of this, the sturgeon was briefly classified as 'haram' by Islamic scholars in Iran and banned there. However, Iranian scientists later discovered microscopic scales on the fish, making it edible there once again. Approved caviar stocks have plummeted in recent years due to excessive over-fishing. American researchers Pikitch et. al. published a paper in the July 2005 edition of Fish and Fisheries, detailing the alarming decline in sturgeon numbers, particularly in the Caspian sea, noting that 15 separate species of sturgeon are severely endangered due to over-fishing. Official figures for sturgeon catches are 90 per cent down on peak catches. When CITES imposed a similar ban in 2001, the Iranian concession was exempt because the Iranian caviar model actively encourages sustainable farming. This ban forces caviar producing states to accurately publish details of their stocks, and they 'Must demonstrate that their proposed catch and export quotas reflect current population trends and are sustainable,' according to CITES secretary-general Willem Wijnstekers. 'To do this they must also make full allowance for the amount of fish caught illegally.' The CITES ban is aimed at exporting countries, so caviar on the shelf is exempt. However, pressure is mounting for individual countries and the EU to follow scientific advice and to regulate their imports, and to ensure that caviar comes from legal sources and that the repackaging of caviar is fully monitored to ensure the preservation of this ancient animal. //CPA For further information, please consult the following web address: http://www.cites.org
Countries
Russia, United States