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By Patrick Moua“There’s been naslkoshi (genocide) here” -Iranian Fisher “Now, remember we’re dealing with a raw seafood endangered species, so it’s basically like eating and dealing with, you know edible elephant tusk.” - Deborah Keane, California Caviar Company owner and founder After reading the above quote by owner and founder of the California Caviar Company, I wondered, How can one eat another non-human animal knowing they are on the brink of extinction? Because that is what we are doing when we eat caviar. Sturgeons are one of over 150,300 species now on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red list because humans have proclaimed their roe (fish eggs) as a “luxurious” treat, and they continue to kill and mistreat these fish for this “delicacy.” Sturgeons are classified in the Acipenseridae genus family. They are a species of fish that primarily live in fresh water and can grow up to 7-12 feet and weigh about an average of 48 pounds. They once dominated the northern hemisphere and were so populated their roe would wash over the shores of beaches and lakes. According to Insider Tech, the sturgeon’s roe used to be so plentiful in the 19th century they would even be provided as a free snack by saloons. Sturgeons, specifically the beluga sturgeons, are the biggest freshwater fish in the world. For example, “The largest Beluga ever caught weighed 1,571 kg (about 3463.46 lb.) and was 7.2 m long”. That is about half the size of an elephant. Beluga sturgeons are larger than other species of sturgeons, and because of that humans have marked the beluga sturgeons as the most valuable. Their large size means they have roe comparably larger to other sturgeon species roe and that is what makes them so valuable because of this they have been inhumanely farmed and poached.
The dramatic increase of caviar production demonstrates how many Sturgeons are being farmed. To harvest the female sturgeon’s roe, they are slit open which kills the sturgeon. Then, the roe is extracted to be cleaned, salted, and packaged in a tin to become caviar. Although there are better ways to farm sturgeon eggs, most sturgeon farms find the slit process “more efficient.” After reading the above quote by owner and founder of the California Caviar Company, I wondered, How can one eat another non-human animal knowing they are on the brink of extinction? Because that is what we are doing when we eat caviar. Sturgeons are one of over 150,300 species now on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red list because humans have proclaimed their roe (fish eggs) as a “luxurious” treat, and they continue to kill and mistreat these fish for this “delicacy.” Sturgeons are classified in the Acipenseridae genus family. They are a species of fish that primarily live in fresh water and can grow up to 7-12 feet and weigh about an average of 48 pounds. They once dominated the northern hemisphere and were so populated their roe would wash over the shores of beaches and lakes. According to Insider Tech, the sturgeon’s roe used to be so plentiful in the 19th century they would even be provided as a free snack by saloons. Sturgeons, specifically the beluga sturgeons, are the biggest freshwater fish in the world. For example, “The largest Beluga ever caught weighed 1,571 kg (about 3463.46 lb.) and was 7.2 m long”. That is about half the size of an elephant. Beluga sturgeons are larger than other species of sturgeons, and because of that humans have marked the beluga sturgeons as the most valuable. Their large size means they have roe comparably larger to other sturgeon species roe and that is what makes them so valuable because of this they have been inhumanely farmed and poached. The high demand for caviar markets has caused a decrease in the sturgeon population and now 16 of the 27 sturgeon species are critically endangered. Due to sturgeons being heavily populated around the 1960’s, humans started to overfish them for their meat and roe. This caused their population to greatly decrease, negatively affecting caviar production and making it less accessible and rarer. The population of sturgeons declined by 89 percent from 26,000 in 1960s to 2,800 in 1990s in the Caspian Sea. The demand for caviar has also led to sturgeon farming. One study found that “[a]t present (2012), the total caviar output from aquaculture is estimated at 260 tons, a production that could increase to 500-700 tons within the next 10 years”. The dramatic increase of caviar production demonstrates how many Sturgeons are being farmed. To harvest the female sturgeon’s roe, they are slit open which kills the sturgeon. Then, the roe is extracted to be cleaned, salted, and packaged in a tin to become caviar. Although there are better ways to farm sturgeon eggs, most sturgeon farms find the slit process “more efficient.” After reading the above quote by owner and founder of the California Caviar Company, I wondered, How can one eat another non-human animal knowing they are on the brink of extinction? Because that is what we are doing when we eat caviar. Sturgeons are one of over 150,300 species now on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red list because humans have proclaimed their roe (fish eggs) as a “luxurious” treat, and they continue to kill and mistreat these fish for this “delicacy.” Sturgeons are classified in the Acipenseridae genus family. They are a species of fish that primarily live in fresh water and can grow up to 7-12 feet and weigh about an average of 48 pounds. They once dominated the northern hemisphere and were so populated their roe would wash over the shores of beaches and lakes. According to Insider Tech, the sturgeon’s roe used to be so plentiful in the 19th century they would even be provided as a free snack by saloons. Sturgeons, specifically the beluga sturgeons, are the biggest freshwater fish in the world. For example, “The largest Beluga ever caught weighed 1,571 kg (about 3463.46 lb.) and was 7.2 m long”. That is about half the size of an elephant. Beluga sturgeons are larger than other species of sturgeons, and because of that humans have marked the beluga sturgeons as the most valuable. Their large size means they have roe comparably larger to other sturgeon species roe and that is what makes them so valuable because of this they have been inhumanely farmed and poached. The high demand for caviar markets has caused a decrease in the sturgeon population and now 16 of the 27 sturgeon species are critically endangered. Due to sturgeons being heavily populated around the 1960’s, humans started to overfish them for their meat and roe. This caused their population to greatly decrease, negatively affecting caviar production and making it less accessible and rarer. The population of sturgeons declined by 89 percent from 26,000 in 1960s to 2,800 in 1990s in the Caspian Sea. The demand for caviar has also led to sturgeon farming. One study found that “[a]t present (2012), the total caviar output from aquaculture is estimated at 260 tons, a production that could increase to 500-700 tons within the next 10 years”. The dramatic increase of caviar production demonstrates how many Sturgeons are being farmed. To harvest the female sturgeon’s roe, they are slit open which kills the sturgeon. Then, the roe is extracted to be cleaned, salted, and packaged in a tin to become caviar. Although there are better ways to farm sturgeon eggs, most sturgeon farms find the slit process “more efficient.” Overfishing has negatively impacted the habitats of sturgeons. This caused sturgeon farms to exploit and breed sturgeons as their habitat no longer became suitable for them to survive. Sturgeons used to bask in the Caspian Sea, but due to the overfishing, the Caspian Sea found itself becoming a victim of pollution, “The Caspian Sea, shared between five countries – Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan – is in ‘critical condition’ with oil tankers alone dumping over 120,000 tons of pollutants annually”. Not only is the Caspian Sea contaminated with oil and pollutants, but the waste from the Fisherman and their boats also continue to harm all of its inhabitants. Villas surrounding the Caspian Sea have also participated in the damage by disposing their sewage in the Sturgeon’s waters. As we think about the decline in sturgeons, it also begs the question what other species are also fighting for their life in that sea? Sturgeons have also been sought out as a food source because of their rich nutritional value, claiming that eating caviar and Sturgeons are beneficial to humans. According to Eating Sturgeon: An Endangered Delicacy, by Raposo, Alturki, Alkutbe, and Raheem, “Sturgeon flesh includes highly digestible proteins, lipids, vitamins, and minerals. Consuming Sturgeon provides essential fatty acids that play important oxidative and anti-inflammatory roles in human cells.” Caviar has similar nutritional value as sturgeon meat, but caviar also contains polyunsaturated fats and numerous biochemical components that contribute to health benefits because of the biodiversity and fish farming. Understanding the health benefits of sturgeons and caviar gives an insight into why humans continue to consume them, but there are also other alternatives to gaining those same health benefits. This can be done by taking vitamin pills or consuming other foods with that rich nutritional value. Sturgeons have been on the IUCN Red List for many years now. More than half of their species are endangered, yet humans still choose to consume their roe and flesh. The roe is deemed as a delicacy and therefore, they are marketed at high prices and make good profits. We must protect the sturgeon species and any other species on the IUCN Red List from any more harm. It is important to clean our waters and hold each other accountable for our actions. By preventing illegal fishing, overfishing, and pollution we can prevent these species from becoming extinct. You can also abstain from eating caviar. If you must consume caviar, try looking into production called “no kill caviar,” where the female sturgeons are induced into labor instead of being murdered for their roe. ReferencesReferences “Beluga Sturgeon.” Danube Sturgeons, danube-sturgeons.org/sturgeon/beluga-sturgeon/#:~:text=The%20Beluga%20Sturgeon%20(Huso%20huso. Bronzi, P., et al. “Global Sturgeon Aquaculture Production: An Overview.” Journal of Applied Ichthyology, vol. 27, no. 2, 28 Mar. 2011, pp. 169–175, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0426.2011.01757.x. Accessed 28 Nov. 2018. Bronzi, P., and H. Rosenthal. “Present and Future Sturgeon and Caviar Production and Marketing: A Global Market Overview.” Journal of Applied Ichthyology, vol. 30, no. 6, 27 Nov. 2014, pp. 1536–1546, https://doi.org/10.1111/jai.12628. Accessed 30 Dec. 2019. correspondent, Tehran Bureau. “Pollution and Overfishing Plague the Caspian Sea.” The Guardian, 11 Mar. 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2015/mar/11/iran-caspian-sea-pollution-overfishing. Farag, Mohamed A., et al. “Caviar and Fish Roe Substitutes: Current Status of Their Nutritive Value, Bio-Chemical Diversity, Authenticity and Quality Control Methods with Future Perspectives.” Trends in Food Science & Technology, vol. 110, Apr. 2021, pp. 405–417, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2021.02.015. Accessed 9 Feb. 2022. Raposo, António, et al. “Eating Sturgeon: An Endangered Delicacy.” Sustainability, vol. 15, no. 4, 1 Jan. 2023, p. 3511, www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/4/3511, https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043511. “The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, www.iucnredlist.org/about/background-history#:~:text=Currently%2C%20there%20are%20more%20than. Torabi Jafroudi, Hor, et al. “Molecular Identification of Residual DNA Separated from the Persian Sturgeon (Acipenser Persicus) for Modeling EDNA Evaluation in Aquatic Ecosystem.” Journal of Genetic Resources, vol. 9, no. 1, 1 Feb. 2023, pp. 103–110, sc.journals.umz.ac.ir/article_4297.html, https://doi.org/10.22080/jgr.2023.25221.1348. Accessed 18 Oct. 2023. United Nations. “UN Report: Nature’s Dangerous Decline “Unprecedented”; Species Extinction Rates “Accelerating.”” United Nations Sustainable Development, 6 May 2019, www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/#:~:text=At%20least%20680%20vertebrate%20species. “Why Caviar Is so Expensive | so Expensive.” YouTube, 8 Feb. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_O5bT3hfkQ. Accessed 31 Oct. 2019. Author BioPatrick Moua is a senior at Mankato State University, majoring in Art Education. His focus is painting but he also enjoys exploring all mediums of art. He spends his summer working with children and enjoying the outdoors. His sisters have a great passion for all animals and that passion carried on over to him.
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