Caviar

Beluga Caviar, Osetra Caviar, Sevruga Caviar

N/A

Caviar is the salted eggs of sturgeon. The majority of the world’s caviar comes from the Caspian Sea, and is imported from Russian, Iran and Turkey. But overfishing and water pollution have put all Caspian Sea sturgeons at grave risk for extinction.

Though the US is only a minor caviar producer, sturgeon and paddlefish farming (aquaculture) has grown in the last several years and is considered the better choice for caviar.

Under current diets and feed conversion ratios, however, the overall ratio of wild fish used as feed to farmed fish produced is 2.4. Therefore, although the propagation practices used by U.S. sturgeon farms, all of which are largely reliant on domesticated broodstock, clearly do not result in any negative impacts on brood stock, wild juveniles or associated non-target organisms, the high ratio of wild fish input to farmed sturgeon output currently puts farmed sturgeon in a category of high marine resource use.

With much of sturgeon nutrition and sturgeon feeds still in a research and development phase, it is yet to be seen where the development of specialized sturgeon feeds will lead in the future; that is, whether new developments in nutrition and feed formulations will lead to the decrease in the use of fish protein in favor of plant proteins, or whether fishmeal and oil use will remain relatively constant over time.

Given the biology and natural history of sturgeons, there are real risks associated with the potential escape of non-native farmed sturgeon into habitats of wild North American sturgeon. Competition, hybridization, and genetic dilution are among the most serious of these risks. Applying the relevant seafood watch criteria to the evaluation of escape risks and escape management practices that are currently used in US sturgeon culture facilities, however, suggests that the actual risks posed by farm escapes to wild sturgeon stocks should be low for all sturgeon culture regions and across U.S. sturgeon culture facilities.

At the same time, given that U.S. sturgeon culture is currently poised for expansion, particular attention needs to be paid to future developments, including the choice of species and farming systems, as well as the choice and application of on-farm management practices. Particular care should also be exercised to continue the application of good management and containment practices as the volume of sturgeon culture expands in existing and new sturgeon culture facilities.

In the case of California and Idaho white sturgeon farms there is absence of evidence for farmed-to-wild disease transfer, yet where such absence of evidence does not constitute evidence of absence of such transfers. On-farm amplification and re-transmission of disease remains a possibility.

Florida farms, which are focused on the culture of several exotic species, are so far reported to have experienced few disease outbreaks. Many of the diseases known to afflict sturgeon of the species cultured in Florida have thus far not been observed in farmed Florida stocks, although farmed sturgeon could still be the carriers of disease, thereby creating the potential of future outbreaks. Since pond culture, and non-zero discharge culture of such nonindigenous sturgeon is currently allowed in Florida, a risk of on-farm amplification and transmission to wild fish does exist, even if at present only on theoretical grounds.

The risk of disease and parasite transfer is a moderate conservation concern.

The combination of culture systems, water treatment and effluent management practices used by both types of U.S. sturgeon culture facilities, as well as the limited use of only mild chemotherapeutants in sturgeon culture, U.S. sturgeon farming poses a low risk to the environment through pollution and habitat effects.

Examination of the available data on regulatory provisions applicable to U.S. sturgeon culture suggests the presence of a relatively comprehensive system of regulatory controls and points to an adequate application of these controls in the management of environmental and other aspects of sturgeon culture. Analysis of the available data also suggests general consistency in coverage and implementation among the management regimes specific to each of the three states in which sturgeon is currently cultured. The management of sturgeon culture can therefore be considered effective.

Is this caviar (sturgeon) wild or farmed?

US farmed caviar is a better choice than wild caviar.

Adults and children should limit to one meal a week since contaminant levels for this fish aren’t known.

No.