Roe woes for caviar lovers http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1136328630925&call_pageid=968350072197&col=969048863851 UN-backed treaty puts caviar export quotas on hold pending new data http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17078&Cr=fish&Cr1= Caviar Emptor: The Decline of the Caspian Sea Sturgeon [Real Player] http://www.caviaremptor.org/ FAQs: Caviar Trade http://worldwildlife.org/trade/faqs_caviar.cfm Fishonline http://www.fishonline.org/ Those oh-so salty eggs of the sturgeon have fascinated everyone from Aristotle to the nouveau riche that reside on various cul-de-sacs along America’s eastern seaboard. Regrettably, the demand for these tiny morsels has outstripped the supply, and this week the secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species declared that there would be a temporary ban on caviar exports. In recent years, there has been increasing concerns about the long-term viability of the sturgeon population, and a number of factors (including pollution) have led to drastic reductions in their numbers. Much like the price of gold in recent years, the price of beluga caviar has doubled, with the current price standing at about $200 an ounce. Many concerned organizations are concerned due to the fact that temporary bans in 2001 and 2002 failed to result in stricter conservation measures and sturgeon populations continued to fall. It should be noted that effectively managing the sturgeon population has been bedeviled by the fact that harvest data for these rather imposing creatures do not include those fish that are poached across their natural habitat. The first link will take users to a news article from this Wednesday’s International Herald Tribune which provides some interesting background information on the recent ban. The second link leads users to a piece from the Toronto Star that discusses the potential effects this ban may have on Canadian connoisseurs of caviar. The third link leads to an official press release from the United Nations’ News Centre about the caviar export ban. The fourth link leads to a site that provides information about the current status of the Caspian Sea sturgeon, along with helpful environmental friendly alternatives. The fifth link will take users to a FAQ offered by the World Wildlife Fund that answers such questions as “Why is caviar traded?” The final link leads to a site created by the Marine Conservation Society that provides information about which fish are from well managed sources around the world.