The majority of the world's caviar originates from sturgeon from the Caspian Sea which is a landlocked body of water surrounded by Iran, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

The declining numbers of the species has been attributed mainly to overfishing and illegal trade. The dwindling numbers are leading to sturgeon being fished in other bodies of water such as those of North America.

North American waters used to be a primary source of the world's caviar. However these waters were over-fished as well, which lead to a sharp decrease in the Atlantic sturgeon population.

As a result of sturgeon population being pushed towards extinction, the species worldwide, was put under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) on April 1 1998. The CITES is the principal regulatory body for global trade on threatened species.

The Caspian Sea has historically accounted for 95 percent of the world's caviar. This however has changed in recent years as supplies have been fast depleting. Approximately 30,000 tons of sturgeon used to be harvested from the Caspian Sea in the 1970s. Recently this number has fallen to almost one tenth.

In June the five countries that border the Caspian Sea agreed to half all sturgeon fishing for the remainder of the year. Iran was exempt from this as its sturgeon management program and CITES enforcement was found to be adequate. In the remaining countries caviar harvested before June of this year was allowed to be exported.

The problem in the Caspian Sea has had a ripple affect in North America which has had to cater to the added demand for sturgeon. "Like the Caspian Sea species, North American sturgeon are currently under review by CITES to determine whether or not their populations are being harmed by overfishing and trade," said Craig Hoover, deputy director of TRAFFIC North American. "We don't want to repeat past mistakes," he added.

The declining numbers in sturgeon population has been noted for a while and officials have been trying to come up with a solution. In February of this year, scientists, government officials, non governmental organizations (NGOS) and caviar trades from 11 countries met in Moscow to address and take stock of the situation.