Caviar back on the menu

Caspian Sea caviar is now back on the menu. After a short ban in 2006, the 2007 export quotas for caviar from the Caspian Sea were published on 2 January by The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), according to UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme).

The 2007 quotas were reduced by some 20% compared with 2005, as the five states bordering the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan, recognized the decline in sturgeon stocks. The quota for beluga, the most expensive caviar in the world, has yet to be published.

I personally have not been upset by the 2006 ban, as I don’t like caviar, be it from the Caspian Sea or elsewhere. But if you’re looking forward to your Caspian Sea caviar, CITES Secretary-General Willem Wijnstekers urges you to “ensure that all imports are from legal sources” (source: UNEP).

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