Sturgeon Caviar in Bulgaria and Romania

The two countries hold the only viable populations of wild sturgeons in the European Union (EU), but five of the six native sturgeon species in the Danube are Critically Endangered and sturgeon fishing there has been banned. 

According to the new report, a total of 14 seizures of illegal caviar originating from Bulgaria (27.5 kg in five seizures) and Romania (25 kg in nine seizures) were reported by EU Member States between 2000 and 2009. Neither Bulgaria nor Romania reported illegal caviar seizures themselves.

“It is of concern that Bulgaria and Romania reported no seizures of caviar, while other EU Member States registered several seizures where those two countries were implicated,” said TRAFFIC’s Katalin Kecse-Nagy, author of the report. 

“The detected quantities are not very high, but we must bear in mind that the real volume of illegal trade is likely to be considerably higher and any illegal trade poses an unacceptable risk to these highly threatened species,” said Kecse-Nagy. 

Kecse-Nagy also points out that in 2007, both Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU, meaning any illegal trade was within the Union, and therefore harder to detect and prevent. 

In addition, due to their geographical position, the two countries are potential gateways for illicit caviar trade from the Caspian Sea, the most important sturgeon fishery in the world. 

In 2009 German authorities seized caviar smuggled into the EU and labeled as Bulgarian farmed caviar. Bulgaria and Romania are only permitted to trade in farmed-caviar, but isotope analysis demonstrated the caviar had originated from the Caspian Sea. 

“This case demonstrates how permitted caviar farming was exploited to launder illegally sourced caviar into legal trade,” said Kecse-Nagy. 

Analysis of legal trade data indicates a large increase in aquaculture production in Bulgaria for export, including within the EU. 

“This means it is more vital than ever to regulate closely the caviar trade within the region to ensure illicit trade is not posing a threat to wild sturgeons.” 

The TRAFFIC report recommends both Romania and Bulgaria raise awareness among enforcement agencies of the illegal caviar trade and strengthen their capacity to control and monitor the trade. 

“The EU has a major responsibility to regulate the caviar trade because EU member states are the largest consumer of caviar from Romania and the second largest consumer of caviar from Bulgaria,” said Jutta Jahrl, Sturgeon expert at WWF. 

“The EU must close every loophole in order to save sturgeons from extinction.”

However, according to Jahrl, consumer awareness in Europe about the threat posed by illegal caviar trade is low, while even genuine traders know little about the requirements for labelling legal caviar. 

“It is crucial that traders and consumers do not buy unlabelled caviar - this simple act would strike a major blow against the illegal trade.”

The report, Trade in Sturgeon Caviar in Bulgaria and Romania was funded by WWF, The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU).