Bulgaria is the first in Europe in the export of black caviar. This was announced on January 23 by Assoc. Prof. Violin Raykov from the Institute of Oceanology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
The export is carried out on a quota basis and is controlled by the Ministry of Environment and Water. In Bulgaria, certain companies receive quotas for the export of this product, added Assoc. Prof. Raykov.
Measures to protect sturgeons
Sturgeons are among the most endangered fish species in the world.
Recently – from January 1, 2026, an indefinite ban on fishing for all sturgeon species in the Bulgarian section of the Danube River and the Black Sea came into force; in the wild, sturgeons are completely prohibited from being caught, the specialist recalled.
The main reasons for their status as endangered species are the destruction of habitats, the interruption of migration corridors, water pollution, poaching and the illegal trade in caviar.
The Institute of Oceanology in Varna will study sturgeon and their migration, as well as spawning sites, under a project. The species are marked with various “tags” and satellite monitoring is used to determine which are the critical breeding sites.
There are 6 species of sturgeon, two of which have completely disappeared. 4 species are critically endangered, and some of them are so-called diadromous fish – migratory species that move between freshwater (Danube) and saltwater (Black Sea) habitats.
Illustrative Photo by Denys Gromov: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-caviar-12645210/
