Beluga  (Huso huso)

Sturgeon have survived since the time of the dinosaurs but some populations of the beluga are today threatened with commercial extinction, principally as a result of overfishing (5). The eggs are highly prized as caviar, for both their quality and quantity (4). The beluga is the most famous of the caviar sturgeons, and is featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive fish (2). Previously effective management of Caspian Sea fisheries have recently collapsed and illegal fishing is now rife; the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service estimated in 1998 that more than 50% of worldwide caviar trade was illegal (5). In addition, habitat destruction through the pollution of coastal habitats and the alteration of river systems through dams, pollution and silting have further affected beluga numbers (4). The Volgograd Dam for example, has blocked almost all beluga spawning grounds (5).

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (7) imposed a six-month ban on sturgeon catches in June 2001, but conservationists are concerned that this has not gone far enough to save the beluga sturgeon (8). The majority of the sturgeon population is now supported artificially (9); hatcheries may be the sole reason belugas still persist in the Caspian Sea (5). The United States is the biggest importer of caviar and the Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering listing the species under the Endangered Species Act, effectively banning importation (8), but time is running out in the fight to save this ancient fish