Caviar The Strange History & Uncertain Future of the World’s Most Coveted Delicacy

1. Caviar The Strange History & Uncertain Future of the World’s Most Coveted Delicacy

6. Osetra Beluga Sevruga A. stellatus Huso huso A. gueldenstaedtii

7. 24 species within 4 genera worldwide Huso – 2 species - Eurasia Pseudoscaphirhynchus – 3 species – Aral Sea Acipenser – 16 species – Eurasia & North America Scaphirhynchus - 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 Acipenseridae Overview

8. Caviar History • 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. LAKE STURGEON HARVEST STATISTICS YEARCATCH 1894 135 TONS 1899 106 TONS 1922 5 TONS

14. 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)

15. Flesh - $0.34 per pound Eggs (Commercial) - $30.59 per pound Eggs (Wholesale) - ~$60 to $80 per pound Eggs (Retail) - $156 to $275 per pound Beluga (Retail) - $756 to $1375 per pound Shovelnose Sturgeon Value

16. NE Missouri Wholesaler 2001 Records Bought 4,740 lbs of sturgeon eggs from 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 $34,654 Hartsburg MO 677 lbs $13,805 Hardin IL 550 lbs $9,856 Jeff City MO 348 lbs $6,988 Hartsburg MO 358 lbs $6,935 Tebbetts MO 285 lbs $5,705 Tuscumbia MO 396 lbs $5,475 Jeff City MO 214 lbs $4,200 Louisiana 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 $74,795.40 from these 3 sales he profited ~$134,598.75

19. Missouri River St Joseph Kansas City Booneville Mokane Weldon Spring Mississippi River Crystal City Cape Girardeau Caruthersville N 569 718 474 1333 188 92 32 161 CPUE 28.5 35.9 23.7 66.7 9.4 4.6 1.6 8.0 RSD-25 8 13 12 19 24 13 34 24 CPUE >25” 2.4 4,5 2.8 12.6 2.3 0.6 0.6 1.9

21. Missouri River St Joseph Kansas City Booneville Mokane Weldon Spring Mississippi River Crystal City Cape Girardeau Caruthersville Wr-Q 15.0”-19.9” 101 102 95 108 122 124 96 101 Wr-P 20.0”-24.9” 95 101 96 103 116 119 105 100 Wr-M 25.0”-31.9” 84 90 86 93 105 109 96 92

22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AGE INFORMATION 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

23. FECUNDITY Mean = 13,262 Range 10,043 – 17,807 SEX RATIO 5.2 males : 1 female

25. 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. 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. 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.

26. 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

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