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)