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Issues: Wildlife

Caviar Emptor
With this campaign, NRDC and our partners aim to make buyers aware that trade in caviar has pushed several species of sturgeon to the brink of extinction.

Sturgeon have been swimming the world's waters since dinosaurs walked the earth. But unrelenting overfishing aimed at harvesting caviar (the fish's eggs), together with pollution and habitat destruction, have driven many of the world's 27 species of sturgeon, and their relatives, the paddlefish, to the brink of extinction. In particular, sturgeon in the Caspian Sea, the cradle of world caviar production, are facing imminent crisis. Among those sturgeon, the beluga is at greatest risk -- it is so depleted, in fact, that it may no longer be reproducing naturally in the Caspian. To reverse these declines, NRDC, the Wildlife Conservation Society and SeaWeb have launched "Caviar Emptor," a campaign to reduce demand for caviar and protect these ancient fish. A report by the campaign documents the threats to sturgeon and recommends steps to help them recover.

Caviar Emptor logo How high is the demand for caviar? Higher than you might think. In the last decade or so, Americans have purchased some 130,000 pounds of imported caviar each year, with Caspian caviar dominating the market. Although caviar can sell for more than $100 an ounce, it is not only the wealthy who are snatching it up.

So, the question that now confronts Americans is whether they are willing to continue indulging their desire for beluga caviar at the cost of pushing these fish to extinction.

Did You Know?
Some species of sturgeon live to be more than 100 years old. Clad in bony plates and equipped with broad snouts, they can weigh as much as 2,500 pounds and measure 15 feet in length. That said, the very largest fish are extremely rare today, the result of decades of overfishing.

Since consumers drive demand for caviar, they are a focus of Caviar Emptor, which urges them to reduce their consumption of caviar and not to eat any beluga caviar at all. Consumers who continue to buy caviar can make a better environmental choice than beluga by buying U.S. "aquacultured" (farmed) caviar.

NRDC and the other groups collaborating on the campaign have also filed a petition asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list beluga sturgeon as an endangered species - a step that would halt U.S. imports of beluga caviar. In addition, we are pressing the U.S. government to pursue an international ban on trade of beluga caviar, along with other measures to protect beluga and other species of sturgeon.

The overfishing that now threatens sturgeon exploded after the fall of the Soviet Union, which led to the collapse of fishery management in the Caspian Sea and paved the way for an enormous black market in caviar. But although overfishing to fuel the caviar trade is the biggest immediate threat to sturgeon, it is not the only one. NRDC and our partners are pressing governments to reverse environmental threats that are contributing to sturgeon's decline, especially habitat destruction and pollution. Sturgeon migrate up rivers to spawn. But dam construction, siltation, and the diversion of river water for irrigation have nearly eliminated spawning runs on many large river systems used by these fish. Meanwhile, pollutants from urban and agricultural runoff and industrial discharges are interfering with sturgeon's reproduction and contribute to large fish kills.

Turning the tide for sturgeon will require the combined action of consumers, the U.S. government, and international governing bodies. If these groups fail to act soon, these fish, survivors of the prehistoric past, will face an uncertain future.

Related Websites
Seaweb's Caviar Emptor site and report

last revised 3.17.01