Environmental Biology of Fishes48:423–426,1997.
© 1997Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
Sturgeon poaching and black market caviar: a case study
Andrew Cohen
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries
Service, Office of Enforcement, Seatte, WA98115, U.S.A.
Received 20.3.1996 Accepted 7.4.1996Key words: Acipenser transmontanus,Columbia River, Lacey Act, beluga caviar, illegal harvesting, envi-
ronmental crimesSynopsisThis paper documents a recent United States Federal prosecution of members of a poaching ring that sold
caviar derived from illegally taken Columbia River white sturgeon,Acipenser transmontanus.Experts esti-
mated that over 2000 adult sturgeon were killed in the process of illegally harvesting the more than 1500 kg of
caviar involved in the case. Case studies of illegal activities related to exploitation of natural resources are
rare. These crimes are difficult to discover and prosecute, for secrecy is essential, and by the time the facts are
publicly available, irreparable environmental damage may have already been done. Sturgeons and paddle-
fishes have long life spans but take many years to reach reproductive maturity; they reproduce infrequently
and rely upon large, often urban rivers for their spawning migrations. These basic biological characteristics
render these fishes especially susceptible to illegal exploitation, particularly when stocks have already been
damaged by overfishing, dam construction or pollution (as has the Columbia River population of white stur-
geon). Given the often exorbitant prices for sturgeon and paddlefish caviar, and the relative ease of capturing
these fishes during their spawning migrations, persons may be tempted to circumvent state and federal regu-
lations designed to protect acipenseriforms. Additionally, those involved in the distribution and sale of caviar
can be motivated to fraudulently mislabel the product; for instance, in this case, white sturgeon caviar was
marked as beluga caviar and sold at approximately five times the normal price of white sturgeon caviar.
Despite the clear evidence of an environmental crime, the scale of the abuse, and the convictions, sentencing
was light, a discouraging sign for those who hope to limit such destructive crimes in the future.Between 1985 and 1990 poachers in the Pacific
Northwest shipped more than 3000 lbs (> 1352 kg)
of high quality caviar made from the roe of white
sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, to a caviar
company in New Jersey. The poachers sent contain-
ers of caviar via the Federal Express shipping com-
pany, using a fictitious business name, and a variety
of nonexistent return addresses. The president/
owner of the caviar company paid the poachers,
whom he had never met in person, by mailing pack-
ages of cash to various post office boxes in Washing-ton. The owner of the company, a well known fifth
generation caviar merchant, has been profiled in
both Playboy and People magazines, and is often
quoted as an industry expert.
How was this poaching ring finally cracked? The
story began with a bank robbery in the rural south-
ern Washington State town of Dollars Corner, not
far from the Columbia River, near Portland, Ore-
gon.
During November 1990, a poacher and his con-
federate were producing high quality caviar in a