Forensic genetic identification of sturgeon caviars traveling in world trade

Fain, Steven R.; Straughan, Dyan J.; Hamlin, Brian C.; Hoesch, Robert M.; LeMay, James P.

doi:10.1007/s10592-013-0481-z

Cited by 31 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…Declaring that caviar originates from higher priced species increases the profit, which explains at least one of the wrong declaration cases. Similar results were found recently in the United States (Fain et al., ). This – and the selling of eight unlabelled caviar containers – demonstrates the need for greater efforts in enforcement measures.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Mislabeled and counterfeit sturgeon caviar from Bulgaria and Romania

Ludwig

Lieckfeldt

Jahrl³

2015

J. Appl. Ichthyol.

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A market survey was performed on caviar from Romania and Bulgaria, two of the last range states of critically endangered sturgeons threatened by poaching and illegal trade. Twenty-seven samples were collected between April 2011 and February 2012, including two samples of Bulgarian farm caviar bought in an Austrian fish shop. Mitochondrial sequences of the cytochrome b gene and microsatellites were used for species identification. Ten samples were in agreement with the species code on their CITES labels, but four samples were mislabeled, six samples were counterfeit and four samples were offered as 'wild origin,' ignoring the fishing bans in place. At least one sample was upgraded from a lower priced species to a more expensive species. These results demonstrate the weakness of sturgeon protection in these Member States of the European Union and key range states. Therefore, we recommend intensifying conservation and enforcement efforts, including also DNA testing of caviar in containers with apparently correct CITES labels.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Mislabeled and counterfeit sturgeon caviar from Bulgaria and Romania

Ludwig

Lieckfeldt

Jahrl³

2015

J. Appl. Ichthyol.

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“…However, with regard to Bester caviar identification, this is not relevant because both A. baerii and A. gueldenstaedtii/persicus are not crossed with H. huso for hybrid caviar production due to different ploidy levels (Fain et al . ). The cooccurrence of the above band in A. ruthenus and A. baerii also makes their hybrids not identifiable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The RP1 primer used for A. ruthenus detection also yields a band of the same size in 60.6% of Siberian sturgeons (A. baerii) as expected and in a very low fraction of A. gueldenstaedtii/persicus (6.15%). However, with regard to Bester caviar identification, this is not relevant because both A. baerii and A. gueldenstaedtii/persicus are not crossed with H. huso for hybrid caviar production due to different ploidy levels (Fain et al 2013). The cooccurrence of the above band in A. ruthenus and A. baerii also makes their hybrids not identifiable.…”

Section: First Molecular Marker For Hybrid Identificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Together with pollution and habitat degradation, the principal reason for the highly threatened status of sturgeons is overexploitation of wild populations due to the high economic value of caviar, a luxury delicacy made of refined eggs of sturgeons, one of the most valuable food items of animal origin (Ludwig ; Fain et al . ; Jahrl ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dramatic decline in sturgeon abundance observed in the last decades has lead the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to identify sturgeons as the most endangered group of species in the world, with 85% of sturgeons being at risk of extinction according to the Red List of Threatened Species (www.iucnredlist.org). Together with pollution and habitat degradation, the principal reason for the highly threatened status of sturgeons is overexploitation of wild populations due to the high economic value of caviar, a luxury delicacy made of refined eggs of sturgeons, one of the most valuable food items of animal origin (Ludwig 2008;Fain et al 2013;Jahrl 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Species and hybrid identification of sturgeon caviar: a new molecular approach to detect illegal trade

Boscari

Barmintseva

Pujolar

et al. 2014

Molecular Ecology Resources

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Overexploitation of wild populations due to the high economic value of caviar has driven sturgeons to near extinction. The high prices commanded by caviar on world markets have made it a magnet for illegal and fraudulent caviar trade, often involving low-value farmed caviar being sold as top-quality caviar. We present a new molecular approach for the identification of pure sturgeon species and hybrids that are among the most commercialized species in Europe and North America. Our test is based on the discovery of species-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ribosomal protein S7, supplemented with the Vimentin gene and the mitochondrial D-loop. Test validations performed in 702 specimens of target and nontarget sturgeon species demonstrated a 100% identification success for Acipenser naccarii, A. fulvescens, A. stellatus, A. sinensis and A. transmontanus. In addition to species identification, our approach allows the identification of Bester and AL hybrids, two of the most economically important hybrids in the world, with 80% and 100% success, respectively. Moreover, the approach has the potential to identify many other existing sturgeon hybrids. The development of a standardized sturgeon identification tool will directly benefit trade law enforcement, providing the tools to monitor and regulate the legal trade of caviar and protect sturgeon stocks from illicit producers and traders, hence contributing to safeguarding this group of heavily threatened species.

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