Caviar – Environmental Issue´s

 

With the increased consumption of this standard of luxury, problems have arisen. Because of the high price of caviar, overfishing and poaching of sturgeon have run rampant. In countries where caviar production was a primary source of export, political and economic turmoil has resulted. Black market trade in caviar has grown by leaps and bounds, as people seek to take advantage of ineffective enforcement and huge profit potentials.

Overharvesting is compounded by the lengthy maturity cycle of the sturgeon. It typically takes a sturgeon six to twenty-five years to reach their sexual maturity. This is further exacerbated with a reproduction cycle of every three to four years. Simply put, sturgeon don't reproduce as early or as often as other fish species, meaning that significant drops in sturgeon populations takes them much longer to recover than other species.

Lastly, environmental degradation severely impacting sturgeon habitat is another serious concern in the production of caviar. Increased water pollution has significantly degraded the rivers sturgeon spawn in, making it more and more difficult for them to reproduce in their natural habitat. Construction of dams too have affected their reproduction, which already is far more impeded naturally, than other species. Only properly managed, international programs will be able to effectively address these concerns.

 

 

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