CaviarThe Strange

History & Uncertain

Future of the World’s Most

Coveted Delicacy

Osetra Beluga Sevruga

A. gueldenstaedtiiHuso huso

A. stellatus

Acipenseridae Overview• 24 species within 4 genera worldwideHuso – 2 species - EurasiaPseudoscaphirhynchus – 3 species – Aral SeaAcipenser – 16 species – Eurasia & North AmericaScaphirhynchus - 3 species – Miss. and Mobile rivers

• 8 species in North America – shortnose, Atlantic, lake, white, green, pallid, shovelnose, & Alabama

• All species have depleted populations due to dam construction, habitat alteration, pollution, and over-harvest however, shovelnose populations are most stable

• 1240 – Batu Kahn eats caviar in Orthodox Christian monastery • 1280 – Orthodox Christian church approves caviar for fasting • Late 1400’s – heavily salted caviar shipped to Italy, Italian

proverb “whoever eateth cavialies, eateth salt, dung, and flies”• 1500’s – King Edward II of England proclaims all sturgeon caught

were to be turned over to him• 1600’s – two shiploads per year to Venetian merchants • 1682 – Peter the Great encouraged exports – however spoilage• Early 1700’s – caviar same price as butter in St. Petersburg

Caviar History

• 1760’s – Catherine the Great controlled export closely, caviar firmly associated with Russian aristocrats

• 1780’s – Ioannis Varvarkis revolutionized caviar trade with linden tree barrels for caviar, employed 3000 in Astrakhan

• Early 1800’s – Industrial Revolution creates new wealth in Europe and a taste for exotic treats such as caviar

• Mid 1800’s – Europeans frustrated with Russian control of supply, Europeans begin to look elsewhere for caviar

• 1917 – Bolshevik Revolution, communists take control of caviar industry

• Late 1980’s – collapse of Soviet Union

Caviar History

American Caviar History• 1849 – Kennebec River, ME - 160 tons

harvested, meat & oil sales good but caviar given away at saloons to increase beer sales

• 1870’s – Delaware River, NJ - caviar shipped by barrel to Germany

• 1880’s – Caviar, NJ - supplies most of world’s caviar

• 1900 – 33rd anniversary of American caviar industry, but over-harvest and pollution have wiped out resource

• 1901 – California bans white sturgeon harvest• 1809 – Canning and bottling techniques

developed and revolutionize caviar sales

LAKE STURGEON HARVEST

STATISTICSYEAR CATCH

1894 135 TONS

1899 106 TONS

1922 5 TONS

STURGEON HARVEST AND EFFORTMISSOURI RIVER

YEAR

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Nu

mb

er

of C

om

me

rcia

l Fis

her

me

n

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Stu

rgeo

n H

arve

st (

Pou

nds)

0

5000

10000

15000

20000Commercial FishermenPounds Harvested

STURGEON HARVEST AND EFFORTMISSISSIPPI RIVER

YEAR

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Nu

mb

er

of C

om

me

rcia

l Fis

he

rme

n

0

200

400

600

800

Stu

rgeo

n H

arve

st (

Pou

nds)

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000Commercial FishermenPounds Harvested

Mississippi River JAN-JUN 1999

# Fishermen Reporting Sturgeon Catch 13 Total Catch 4,150 lbs Range (Total Catch / Fisherman) 13-1,200 lbs Average Catch / Fisherman 319 lbs 2 Fishermen (15%) Caught 2,200 lbs (53% of Total)

5 Fishermen (38%) Caught 3,485 lbs (84% of Total)

Mississippi River JUL-DEC 1999

# Fishermen Reporting Sturgeon Catch 16 Total Catch 7,050 lbs Range (Total Catch / Fisherman) 2-4,600 lbs Average Catch / Fisherman 440 lbs 1 Fishermen (6%) Caught 4,600 lbs (65% of Total)

5 Fishermen (31%) Caught 6,115 lbs (87% of Total)

Shovelnose Sturgeon Value

• Flesh - $0.34 per poundFlesh - $0.34 per pound

• Eggs (Commercial) - $30.59 per poundEggs (Commercial) - $30.59 per pound

• Eggs (Wholesale) - ~$60 to $80 per pound Eggs (Wholesale) - ~$60 to $80 per pound

• Eggs (Retail) - $156 to $275 per poundEggs (Retail) - $156 to $275 per pound

• Beluga (Retail) - $756 to $1375 per pound Beluga (Retail) - $756 to $1375 per pound

NE Missouri Wholesaler 2001 Records

Bought 4,740 lbs of sturgeon eggsfrom 26 fishermen@ $97,264.80 ($20.52 / lb)

9 of 26 fishermen (34%) accounted for 92% of harvest (4,346 lbs)Morrison MO 1,342 lbs $34,654Hartsburg MO 677 lbs $13,805Hardin IL 550 lbs $9,856Jeff City MO 348 lbs $6,988Hartsburg MO 358 lbs $6,935Tebbetts MO 285 lbs $5,705Tuscumbia MO 396 lbs $5,475Jeff City MO 214 lbs $4,200Louisiana MO 176 lbs $3,510

Sold 3,645 lbs of eggs in 3 lots for $212,394.15 (58.27 / lb)@ 20.52 / lb he had invested $74,795.40from these 3 sales he profited ~$134,598.75

Missouri River St Joseph Kansas City Booneville Mokane Weldon Spring

Mississippi River Crystal City Cape Girardeau Caruthersville

N

569718474

1333188

9232

161

CPUE

28.535.923.766.79.4

4.61.68.0

RSD-25

813121924

133424

CPUE >25”

2.44,52.8

12.62.3

0.60.61.9

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700N

UM

BER

12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

LENGTH (INCHES)

Missouri River St Joseph Kansas City Booneville Mokane Weldon Spring

Mississippi River Crystal City Cape Girardeau Caruthersville

Wr-Q15.0”-19.9”

10110295

108122

12496

101

Wr-P20.0”-24.9”

9510196

103116

119105100

Wr-M25.0”-31.9”

84908693

105

1099692

Missouri River N = 672 Range 5-24 years (one 37 year old fish) Annual Mortality = 24% Modal Age 11-15 years

Mississippi River N = 251 Range 5-22 years Annual Mortality = 24% Modal Age 9-13 years

AGE INFORMATION

1

234

10

567

89

FECUNDITY Mean = 13,262 Range 10,043 – 17,807

SEX RATIO 5.2 males : 1 female

Catch per unit effort of Scaphirhynchus spp. during winter sampling (November-March) using gill nets in the middle

Mississippi River 1997- 2002.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

8 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Fork Length (inches)

CP

UE

(fi

sh /

net

nig

ht)

1997 cpue: 25 net nights;N=527 1998 cpue: 54 net nights;N=10521999 cpue: 48 net nights;N=4742000 cpue: 21 net nights;N=1772002 cpue: 20 net nights;N=30

Fisherman Osaini Ali said three years ago he brought in 2,600 pounds (1,200 kg) of caviar. So far this year, his catch is not even 220 pounds (100 kg), and he doesn't know why.

Legal production of caviar in the Caspian basin is now less than 1,000 tons. It was more than 20 times that only two decades ago.

Outside Iran, illegal fishing and caviar sales are estimated at $1 billion dollars a year, more than 10 times the total for official legal sales.

FUTURE OF CAVIAR INDUSTRY• Stolt sturgeon farm – commercially raising white

sturgeon for caviar in California – harvested 4 tons of caviar in 2000 with future of 10-15 tons

• Reservoir ranching of paddlefish – proposed stocking of gynogens in public KY reservoirs – stocking paddlefish in MO private impoundments

• Chicken caviar – Novo Petrovsky chicken farm – “caviar” created with eggs mixed with sunflower oil, salt, fish essence, and India tea for color – droplets fried in oil – very similar to caviar taste but 15 times less expensive

We have the luxury of vodka. We have the luxury of caviar. But time, that luxury we do not have.

Nikita Khrushchev