Australia clears way for caviar industry with sturgeon approval

Live sturgeon, which are highly valued for caviar roe (eggs), have passed a biosecurity review to be allowed to stock commercial aquaculture farms.

Despite the previous ban, sturgeon farming for caviar production has been identified as a potential domestic and export growth industry.

Australian fish farmers do produce caviar but generally the roe are collected from salmon or trout, not the large European sturgeon which produce one of the most expensive delicacies in the world.

Sturgeon are capable of growing up to a tonne in weight during their long lifetimes.

Fifty grams of caviar can retail for up to $1000.

The biosecurity risk from sturgeon imports has been closely examined by a host of experts since 2015.

That review found today's biggest exporters of caviar are China, Poland, USA, Italy and Uganda.

Countries with a biggest taste for caviar are China, Italy, France and Germany.

The government's final import risk analysis report was released this week recommending live sturgeon can be imported into Australia, with a number of conditions.

Some of those are they would need to be sourced from disease-free cultured stocks, have parasite treatment and wait out post-arrival quarantine.

Fish farmers will still need an import permit, which will require certainty over "physical containment" within the aquaculture setup.

"... they must be in a secure recirculating aquaculture system to manage the risk of sturgeon establishing as a pest species in the wild", the review found.

The World Organisation for Animal Health typically recommends when importing a new live species for aquaculture the "first specimens imported" remain indefinitely contained at a quarantine facility, with their subsequent generations being released.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department said because of the slow development of sturgeon to reach sexual maturity (seven or more years) this was "not feasible for imported larvae, fingerlings and juveniles".

Instead, the department said it would consider on a case-by-case basis the option of holding imported "sexually mature sturgeon" in quarantine indefinitely and only releasing a first generation population.

The first species which originally were to be considered for importing will be Acipenser baerii (Siberian sturgeon) and Huso huso (beluga sturgeon) but the biosecurity approval allows general application for permits to be applied for.