The United States Fish and
Wildlife Service has issued a proposal to place
the beluga sturgeon -- source of the prized
beluga caviar -- on the endangered species
list under the US Endangered Species Act. The
proposal was issued on July 31 in response
to a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC) in 2000, urging the
Service to protect the species as endangered,
thus prohibiting the United States from importing
beluga caviar for consumption. "Beluga
sturgeon are on the brink of extinction, largely
due to the demand for beluga caviar," said
Lisa Speer, senior policy analyst for the NRDC,
in a press release issued by the group today. "We
are literally killing the goose that lays the
golden eggs," she said. "The United
States imports 80 percent of the world's beluga
caviar. As a result, a ban on beluga caviar
imports into the United States would reduce
pressure on the fish and improve its prospects
for survival." With beluga sturgeon being
the world's most coveted source of caviar,
speculation arose as to whether a ban from
on US imports would affect the worldwide caviar
market or result in a loss of jobs. "I
don't envision this move affecting the current
market," said NRDC spokesperson Ellen
Pikitch. "The beluga sturgeon is already
depleted as a species, so much so that I can't
imagine there being many jobs reliant on that
particular product." In addition to the
NRDC, two other environmental conservation
groups are calling on consumers worldwide to
avoid beluga caviar in favor of more environmental-friendly
varieties of the delicacy. "It is important
that the government lead the way in creating
measures to protect this imperiled species," said
Vikki Spruill, executive director of SeaWeb. "But
just as important is the need for consumers
worldwide to make wiser seafood choices. Consumers
can send a powerful message by choosing environmentally
sound caviar." The National Resource Defense
Council is a Washington-based nonprofit environmental
awareness organization that works to educate
the public on the importance of protecting
the planet's wildlife and wild places.
