'Threatened' beluga sturgeon maintains conditional access to U.S. retail stores

WASHINGTON-A burden of proof relating to responsible fishing practices will continue to keep U.S. borders open to beluga sturgeon products after the threatened status becomes effective Oct. 21.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service here June 29 proposed a special rule under Section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, outlining population management requirements for countries supplying threatened beluga sturgeon products to the United States.

The public comment period for the proposed rule closed July 29.

"We are trying to leverage the economic value of the species for conservation," said Roddy Gabel, chief of the division of scientific authority at USFWS.

Conservation groups operating under a common platform known as Caviar Emptor are criticizing the action as an ineffective solution. Instead, the Washington-based group, composed of conservation groups including National Resources Defense Council, SeaWeb and Pew Institute for Ocean Science, had aimed for an endangered classification.

"We are enormously disappointed in the government's decision to allow continued imports of the eggs of this critically depleted species," said Lisa Speer, senior policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a prepared statement. "An immediate ban on the import of beluga products is essential if beluga sturgeon are to be rescued from extinction."

The fact that the United States is one of the largest importers, importing roughly 80 percent of the beluga sturgeon catch, is precisely why USFWS decided to take on a more instrumental role in enforcing conservation measures, said Gabel.

"We are trying to work with them," said Gabel. "This keeps us in the mix and gives us a voice to encourage conservation."

The listing as threatened enables the FWS to align itself with existing international fishing quota and permit systems instituted and monitored by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species treaty, composed of 165 signatory countries.

"If FWS implements what CITES requires, we are already working to better the situation," said Moshe Cohen, sales director for Marky's Caviar, Miami. "By enforcing those rules, this is the best way to protect the species."

He said importers have the most interest in preserving the species.

"Who is going to invest into replenishing it (beluga sturgeon stocks) are the suppliers," said Cohen.

Cohen said the threatened status will not change the way Marky's Caviar conducts business.

"We have been working for the past year on the issue of depletion of beluga for import into the United States," he said.

One sustainable alternative the importer has introduced to the market has been caviar harvested through caesarian section, enabling a single beluga sturgeon to yield caviar numerous times throughout its lifetime. The importer also imported live beluga and sevruga sturgeon from Russia and Siberia in November 2003, with plans to produce farmed caviar in Miami in two years. To restore the Caspian and Black Sea supplies, Marky's returns 1,000 fry to the Capsian or Black Seas for every kilo of caviar harvested there.

Retailers are closely monitoring the situation and sourcing other alternatives.

A Southern Season has carried an increasing number of alternatives to imported beluga caviar, including Tsar Nicoulai wild California estate osetra from San Francisco; Savannah, Tenn.-based Kelley's Katch caviar, which is harvested from wild paddlefish from rivers in Tennessee and elsewhere in the United States; and Marky's Caviar, Miami.

At the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade's Summer Fancy Food Show in July, D'Artagnan, Newark, N.J., and Marky's both introduced French farmed caviar.

"If it seems wise to stop (selling beluga caviar) to preserve the supplies for the long term, we would consider stopping selling beluga caviar," said Jerry Salak, perishable foods manager for A Southern Season, Chapel Hill, N.C.

Copyright United Publications, Inc. Aug 2004
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