What is Sturgeon?
Sturgeon is a fish in the family Acipenserenae that contains more than 20 known species. People are most familiar with the fish because it is a famous source of caviar, uniformilized ROE collected from female fish. Since 1998, many species have been regulated by the Convention on International Trade with Endangered Species (CITES) for fear of excessive fishing. Sturgeon products legally traded is accompanied by the CITES certificate, which verifies that they have been checked and fishing was approved. Fish are long, with several rows of bony plates along their bodies, along with an elongated muzzle that has protruding barbely. Fish are lower feeders and use their wedge muzzle the bottom of the waterway for food. Most eat molluscs, worms and larvae. They are classified as ganoid fish, in reference to bony plates that line their bodies.
The northern hemisphere exclusively supports sturgeon and prefers mild than tropical water. Some are anadromic, which means they travel limitI salt and sweet water. Others live only in fresh water, usually in inland water bodies and some species spend lives at sea. The largest species is Russian sturgeon, which can reach a length of 13 feet (almost 4 meters). The fish about half of this size are much more abundant.
people have been eating Sturgeon and their products for centuries. Caviar is the most valuable product of this fish, but the body is also eaten. Sturgeon meat has a rich, high fat content and very dense with a slight taste. If it is achievable, it is consumed fresh in many parts of Europe. In Russia, where a large number of fish are harvested for their ROE, meat is dried or smoked before sale. People also use swimming bladder for extraction isinglass, a type of gelatin used to clarify foods such as beer.
As with many other endangered fish species, attempts are carried out at a more sustainable fishing sturgeon. In countrieswhere the caviar trade is an important part of life and economy, many fishing cooperates with nature conservationists to maintain fish stocks. Public awareness campaigns have also begun to draw attention to the problem, encouraging them to eat caviar from less endangered species, and only buy products that were certified.