Canned decadence with a conscience

September 17, 2008 - 8:12 AM by Harry

American Sturgeon Traditionally, caviar is made from the eggs of sturgeon fish from the Caspian Sea. But since the fall of the Soviet Union, Caspian sturgeon have come dangerously close to extinction. The growth of industry in the area, combined with fewer regulations – or at least less enforcement – has created a situation where supply of caviar is scarce.

According to an ISRAEL21c report from the summer of 2005, the situation was dire as long as 10 years ago:

By 1998, the decline was so pronounced that an international committee known as CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna) indicated that without international actions, there was an imminent threat of extinction of sturgeon from the Caspian Sea. This action has led to tight regulation and control of the international trade of all caviar from all species worldwide.

As a reaction to the situation, clever Israeli innovators at Dan Fish Farms concern Galilee Caviar found a way to help sturgeon – and increase the egg-laying productivity of domesticated fish. Galilee Caviar’s sturgeon begin producing caviar eggs at age seven or eight – about half the age of maturity among most sturgeon.

Once the Dan Fish Farms optimized the conditions in their ponds, the sturgeon were able to be domesticated, and after tweaking the temperatures and feeding patterns, they were well on their way to rapid maturation. Although the project isn’t altruistic enough to try and replenish the Caspian Sea with its indigenous populations, at least we know that a certain critical mass of super-sturgeon is safe in the Galilee.

Recently, London’s Telegraph picked up on the story, catching up with the Galilee Caviar leadership, now aiming to be earning $7 million in annual sales within two years.

One possible setback may be controversy over sturgeon’s kashrut – but when it comes to an international market, that shouldn’t hold them back. Regardless, the Telegraph is intrigued by the theological angle:

Sturgeon – and caviar – is not generally considered to be kosher, due to the fish’s apparent lack of scales. Kosher fish must have both fins and scales in order to be deemed kosher.

But, Prof Levavi-Sivan, said “If you ask me, it’s kosher! I can even prove it has scales,” she said, insisting that the sturgeon does have tiny scales which can be seen using magnified 3D images.

A number of Jewish sources – including the 13th century Jewish rabbi and scholar Moses Maimonides – approved the kashrut (dietary law) of a fish called the esturgeon but it has yet to be determined whether this is the same fish as the sturgeon.

Image of American sturgeon courtesy scratch from Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

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