Beluga Caviar

Beluga Caviar consisting of the roe ( or eggs ) of the Beluga sturgeon found primarily in the Caspian Sea. It can also be found in the Black Sea basin and occasionally in the Adriatic Sea. Beluga caviar is the most expensive type of caviar, with present market prices going from 7000$ to 10000$ per kilo.

Harvesting

The Beluga sturgeon is currently considered to be endangered, causing the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to ban, in 2005, the importation of Beluga caviar which originated in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea basin. In 2006, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) suspended all trade made with the traditional caviar producing sturgeons of the Caspian and Black seas (Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga), due to the producing countries' failure to apply international regulations and recomendations , exempting only Iran. In January 2007, this ban was partly lifted, allowing the sale of 96 tons of caviar, 15 per cent below the official 2005 level. CITES maintained the 2007 quotas for 2008, drawing criticism for doing little to protect the declining sturgeon population.

The Beluga sturgeon can take up to 20 years to reach maturity. The fish harvested for caviar are often nearly 2000 pounds. The eggs themselves are the largest of the commonly used roes, and range in colour from dark grey (almost black) to light grey, with the lighter colours coming from older fish, and being the most valued. A pearly white variety, called Almas (Persian for diamond), taken from a centenial female sturgeon, is the rarest type of Beluga available, with an extremely small production and prices reaching almost 25000$ per kilo.