Caviar The Strange History & Uncertain Future of the World’s Most Coveted Delicacy
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Transcript of Caviar The Strange History & Uncertain Future of the World’s Most Coveted Delicacy
CaviarThe Strange
History & Uncertain
Future of the World’s Most
Coveted Delicacy
Osetra Beluga Sevruga
A. gueldenstaedtiiHuso huso
A. stellatus
Acipenseridae Overview• 24 species within 4 genera worldwideHuso – 2 species - EurasiaPseudoscaphirhynchus – 3 species – Aral SeaAcipenser – 16 species – Eurasia & North AmericaScaphirhynchus - 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
• 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
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
Caviar History
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
LAKE STURGEON HARVEST
STATISTICSYEAR CATCH
1894 135 TONS
1899 106 TONS
1922 5 TONS
STURGEON HARVEST AND EFFORTMISSOURI RIVER
YEAR
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Nu
mb
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of C
om
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l Fis
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800
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1200
Stu
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10000
15000
20000Commercial FishermenPounds Harvested
STURGEON HARVEST AND EFFORTMISSISSIPPI RIVER
YEAR
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Nu
mb
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of C
om
me
rcia
l Fis
he
rme
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200
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60000
70000Commercial FishermenPounds Harvested
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)
Shovelnose Sturgeon Value
• Flesh - $0.34 per poundFlesh - $0.34 per pound
• Eggs (Commercial) - $30.59 per poundEggs (Commercial) - $30.59 per pound
• Eggs (Wholesale) - ~$60 to $80 per pound Eggs (Wholesale) - ~$60 to $80 per pound
• Eggs (Retail) - $156 to $275 per poundEggs (Retail) - $156 to $275 per pound
• Beluga (Retail) - $756 to $1375 per pound Beluga (Retail) - $756 to $1375 per pound
NE Missouri Wholesaler 2001 Records
Bought 4,740 lbs of sturgeon eggsfrom 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 $34,654Hartsburg MO 677 lbs $13,805Hardin IL 550 lbs $9,856Jeff City MO 348 lbs $6,988Hartsburg MO 358 lbs $6,935Tebbetts MO 285 lbs $5,705Tuscumbia MO 396 lbs $5,475Jeff City MO 214 lbs $4,200Louisiana 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 $74,795.40from these 3 sales he profited ~$134,598.75
Missouri River St Joseph Kansas City Booneville Mokane Weldon Spring
Mississippi River Crystal City Cape Girardeau Caruthersville
N
569718474
1333188
9232
161
CPUE
28.535.923.766.79.4
4.61.68.0
RSD-25
813121924
133424
CPUE >25”
2.44,52.8
12.62.3
0.60.61.9
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700N
UM
BER
12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
LENGTH (INCHES)
Missouri River St Joseph Kansas City Booneville Mokane Weldon Spring
Mississippi River Crystal City Cape Girardeau Caruthersville
Wr-Q15.0”-19.9”
10110295
108122
12496
101
Wr-P20.0”-24.9”
9510196
103116
119105100
Wr-M25.0”-31.9”
84908693
105
1099692
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
AGE INFORMATION
1
234
10
567
89
FECUNDITY Mean = 13,262 Range 10,043 – 17,807
SEX RATIO 5.2 males : 1 female
Catch per unit effort of Scaphirhynchus spp. during winter sampling (November-March) using gill nets in the middle
Mississippi River 1997- 2002.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
8 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Fork Length (inches)
CP
UE
(fi
sh /
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nig
ht)
1997 cpue: 25 net nights;N=527 1998 cpue: 54 net nights;N=10521999 cpue: 48 net nights;N=4742000 cpue: 21 net nights;N=1772002 cpue: 20 net nights;N=30
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.
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.
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.
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
We have the luxury of vodka. We have the luxury of caviar. But time, that luxury we do not have.
Nikita Khrushchev