A new study published in the journal “Current Biology” found that a large amount of commercial caviar products from Europe are illegal. Some of the products don’t even contain any trace of sturgeon roe. Because wild sturgeons are currently on the brink of extinction, only farmed sturgeons can be used to produce legal, internationally tradable caviar. Although strict regulations exist to help protect the species, sturgeon experts found that illegal poaching is still occuring.
After conducting genetic and isotope analyses on caviar samples from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine, researchers learned that half of those commercial caviar products are illegally sourced. This is a pretty big deal considering that the four nations all border the remaining wild sturgeon populations.
Researchers tested 149 samples of caviar and sturgeon meat purchased from several sources, including local markets, shops, restaurants, bars, and aquaculture facilities. They found that 21% of the samples came from wild-caught sturgeons, which were sold in all of the countries studied. Twenty-nine percent of the samples violated CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) regulations and trade laws. And 32% of the samples were labeled as “customer deception” because they actually originated from aquaculture despite being listed as wild products.
Three of the samples, served in Romania in a dish called “sturgeon soup,” were devoid of any sturgeon. Instead, they contained European catfish and Nile perch. Per the findings, researchers suggested that local seafood vendors are partaking in increased illegal poaching activity due to inadequate income opportunities. They also noted the lack of effective law enforcement in the studied regions.
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