Since the 2005 ban came into effect, the sale of beluga caviar in the U.S. has been illegal.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, controls on sturgeon supply in the Caspian Sea weakened. Due to overfishing, Beluga sturgeon is "threatened with extinction," according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. In 2005, the U.S. banned Beluga caviar imports from the Black and Caspian Seas. Despite the ban, a black market in Beluga caviar thrives. Poaching accounts for three hundred tons of caviar annually, or 10 times the amount of legitimate trade. A number of alternatives to Beluga caviar have emerged to serve the U.S. market.
Domestic Alternatives
In the 1800s, the U.S. was the world's leading supplier of caviar due to its sturgeon-stocked waters, ranging from the East Coast to the Great Lakes. By the early 1900s, overfishing had exhausted the U.S. sturgeon supply, and the Caspian Sea became the new source of caviar. The supply situation has come full circle in the early 2000s. U.S. fisheries are successfully breeding lake sturgeon in the southern region, white sturgeon on the West Coast, and other sturgeon-like fish, which include hackleback and paddlefish. The California-based Stolt Sea Farm produces over six tons of caviar from white sturgeon annually. Kelp- or soy-based caviars serve as alternatives for vegetarians.
Foreign Alternatives
As the world's foremost producer of farmed caviar, France's bearii or Siberian sturgeon caviar has been penetrating the U.S. market. Also seen in the U.S. is the delicate \orange chum salmon caviar from Japan. In Finland, alternatives to Beluga caviar are produced from the commonplace whitefish, the vendace and the burbot, a cod-like fish. Priced at 30 €/kg, burbot caviar is considered by connoisseurs to be as savory as Beluga caviar, though it is less expensive. Caviar from smoked cod roe comes in tubes and is used to make sandwiches in Scandinavia.
Prices
While an ounce of beluga caviar costs as much as $100, the average prices for domestic caviar range from a low of $20 to a high of $90 per ounce. The retail price for American sturgeon caviar is about $60 for an ounce, according to the New York Times.
False Labeling
According to U.S. law, the only caviar that does not require the fish type on labels is sturgeon eggs. However, producers of imported caviar in large tins must state the source and type of sturgeon on labels, as required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and an international agreement that oversees global trade in endangered species, according to the New York Times. Dealers in black market caviar not only export Beluga caviar illegally but also falsely label inferior caviar as Beluga in order to take advantage of U.S. demand.
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