Aug. 01, 2007

The ban on black caviar production has taken effect in Russia. Today’s extent of the poaching capture is so catastrophic that it may lead to complete destruction of all Caspian sturgeons in three years.

The ban also extends to selling confiscated caviar. It will be no longer delivered to the stores but destroyed instead. For the sake of rescuing sturgeons, this item of gourmet will disappear from stores for the nearest decade.

The sturgeons and black caviar accounted for a sizeable portion of Russia’s exports in late 1970s, the former Soviet Union used to annually export up to 2,000 tons of this delicacy. Today’s quantity doesn’t exceed 1,200 tons. Of it, the market legally gets no more than 10 tons. Each year, Russia’s economy loses at least $500 million from illegal sales of fish product.

As a result of ruthless poaching, the sturgeon population of the Caspian basin shed 38.5 fold in the last 15 years, according to environmental experts of Russia.

Source: www.kommersant.com

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