
Pressed Caviar: The Last Undiscovered Indulgence
December 2008 — Pressed caviar — or payusnaya in Russian — is a smooth, dense, nicely salty paste made from the fish eggs that break during the packing of traditional caviar. Once quite common in France, it was featured at New York City’s famed Le Pavillon restaurant, where I worked in the late 1950s. In the past 20 years, however, pressed caviar has almost disappeared from the market. In an attempt to bring it back, I recently partnered with the California Caviar Company to create a new pressed sturgeon caviar. I hope my recipes will inspire people to try it.
Read
the entire article here. (Source: Food&Wine.com)
Caviar Dreams
December 2008 — Caviar continues to be a gathering point for both (Jacques Pépin) and Denver-based daughter (Claudine Pépin).
So much so the (they) have created a sustainable line of caviar. The two launched their Pépin Payusnaya and Caviar Claudine — as part of the California Caviar Company's Chef's Signature Series — during June's Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.
Read
the entire article here. (Source: 5280.com)
Anglers Help with Paddlefish Research
June 8, 2008 — The Sooner State is one of the (Midwestern states home to Paddlefish) and a recent paddlefish
research project may have just netted the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) more than 1$ million. But
even more important than the monetary gain may be the amount of data collected on this species and the interaction
with anglers fishing for these beasts.
"Up until now we had a brush fire approach to paddlefish management," said Brent Gorder, Northeast Regional Fisheries Supervisor for the ODWC. "We've done creel surveys and looked at the exploitation of thes fish since 1979, but we really only knew about the current population and didn't get the answers we were looking for since many of these fish take eight to ten years to reach maturity."
A total of 4,221 paddlefish were processed at the PRPC (Paddlefish Research and Processing Center) with about 60 percent being males. Gordon said the amount of data and positive publicity for this endeavor was huge. "This provides us with too much good information to ever stop doing it," Gordon said. "We now have a database on paddlefish that any state in the country would envy." Plans are already under way for the 2009 paddlefishing season and Gordon says his administration thinks the PRPC was a huge success.
"One of the most important benefits of the PRPC was that it put our biologists in one-on-one situations with anglers from all over and they could talk about paddlefish and even other species like blue catfish and crappie," Gordon said of the public support and interaction often so crucial to the success of any governmental venture. "It's a win-win situation for everyone and we've got a lot of good press from it and anglers really love it so there's no way we could stop it now."
Read
the entire article here. (Source: cjonline.com)
Azerbaijan: Ready for Sturgeon
Fishing Ban, Though Reluctant to Follow Russia
May 2, 2008 — Azerbaijan stands ready to back a Russian
ban on Caspian Sea sturgeon fishing, but local experts
say
that,
in many
ways, Azerbaijan is more of a model for sustainable sturgeon
fishing than Russia itself.
The five Caspian Sea littoral
states -- Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan
-- are responsible for
about 90 percent of the world’s black caviar production.
However, experts warn that over-fishing may be causing
a catastrophic decline in the sea’s sturgeon population.
Read
the entire article here. (Source: Eurasianet.org)
Russian Police Arrest Sturgeon Poachers
April 14, 2008 — Police in Russia have confiscated almost eight tonnes
of sturgeon caught by poachers in the republic of Dagestan. Russia reported that
the official discovered the fish in a truck and that the illegal catch was hidden
under boxes filled with fruits. It is believed that the fish were probably ordered
by someone in Moscow and officials are now working to track down the buyer.
Read
the entire article here. (Source: iar.org/uk)
CITES Caviar Export Quotas Remain Steady for Beluga Sturgeon
Despite Threat of Extinction
March 4, 2008 — Despite evidence
that beluga sturgeon stocks have declined by a staggering
90 percent
in the
past 20 years, CITES'
2008 export quotas again permit the fish and their eggs
to be harvested. The sturgeon quota system was established
to ensure that trade in sturgeon products would only be
permitted from sustainable fisheries, but much evidence
indicates the quotas do not reflect the urgent need for
protection and the rampant illegal harvest and trade....in
2007, quotas for beluga caviar were 3,761 kg and this year,
the export quota is 3,700 kg."
Read
the entire article here. (Source: physorg.com)

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