Russia's Agriculture Ministry called Friday for imposing a state monopoly on valuable black caviar exports, amid rampant poaching and dwindling sturgeon stocks, RIA Novosti reports.
Populations of caviar-producing sturgeon, which take up to 16 years to mature, have plummeted almost forty-fold since the breakup of the Soviet Union due to overfishing, and are listed by the World Conservation Union as an endangered species.
Alexei Gordeyev, speaking in Astrakhan on the Volga delta, said that international organizations currently have an annual quota for Russia of 20 metric tons for black caviar production. "We do not choose this quota, and are legally producing seven tons, which are sold on the domestic market," he said.
However, the minister said that so far this year, over two tons of illegal caviar had been confiscated in Russia, and 100 kilograms destroyed.
Asked why confiscated caviar could not be legalized and subsequently sold, he said: "When we open a plant to legalize caviar, it becomes a point for legalizing all counterfeit produce. We have to destroy caviar to stop poachers, and this is common practice around the world."
He also said the sale of sturgeon caviar at markets should be banned, and that the product should only be sold in specialized shops, where monitoring is easier.