Fishing for profits on world caviar market

Hebrew University scientists help Israel meet world's growing demand

Sturgeon at the Kibbutz Dan fishery. Click here for more information.

As sturgeon populations decline in the Caspian Sea, scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have a found way for Israel to cash in on the world's growing demand for caviar.

Prof. Berta Levavi-Sivan of the Hebrew University's Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences and Dr. Avshalom Hurvitz have successfully reared Israel's first sturgeon. In the past, the Caspian Sea was the world's main source of sturgeon that produces the black fish roe delicacy. However, over-fishing and pollution have led to dwindling fishing yields in the region.

Sturgeon at the Kibbutz Dan fishery. Click here for more information.

Prof. Levavi-Sivan and Hurvitz began rearing the fish eight years ago when they brought fertilized sturgeon eggs to Israel from the Caspian Sea. According to Sivan, it takes eight to fifteen years for the female sturgeon to reach puberty and start producing eggs, while male sturgeon reach puberty after four or five years.