The major concern facing regulation of the fishing of sturgeon populations is one of economics. As much as the caviar craze affects the lives of tons of sturgeon, any type of regulation will affect thousands of people's livelihood. The Caspian Sea is the world's largest lake and houses nearly 80-90% of the world's total sturgeon population. Bordering this lake are Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan - all vying for the industry that pays nearly $500 for one sturgeon. Especially for the newly independent nations like Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, this source of revenue is so significant that conservation talks have mostly fallen on deaf ears. In fact, these countries are not member nations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
 
Secondly, from a western perspective, any type of defense of the caviar industry from the point of view of the connoisseurs seems ludicrous. Our reasoning for driving the sturgeon to extinction cannot merely be to satisfy our expensive appetites. However, it must be noted that although it is not a staple diet, Russia does assert a certain national pride in caviar, dating back to Peter the Great. For the Russians, not only does it bring in much revenue, it is also highly esteemed as a national treasure! Disrespecting this aspect of the issue may be ethnocentric. With the resurgence of Russian cuisine in the United States, caviar has also seen a rise in demand by restaurateurs.

Also, as touched on earlier, illegal trade of sturgeon eggs constitutes nearly 90% of the total industry. Not only does CITES have no power to enforce their regulations, they do not convince opportunists to stop making big money from the fish. For example, in Azerbaijan, the mafia controls all illegal caviar trade - police officers are not as motivated to invite death rallying for fish!

Finally, the high demand for caviar contributes to the overall problem of endangered sturgeon. The people want it, and if not the government, then the illegal trade is more than willing to supply the demand.
 
 
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