for Fable
In 1792, poet and fable writer, Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, wrote the fable entitled The Crocodile and the Sturgeon. In it, the crocodile embodies all that is wicked, while the sturgeon, all that is good. Florian notes that the wicked crocodile is unscrupulous and shows now remorse; he shows that a plea to moral grounds will never change ones true nature.
At the turn of the millennium, sturgeon fish were on the verge of extinction and added to the CITES list of protected species (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, aka. the Washington Convention). Sturgeon fishing was banned outright in 2008, thus marking the end of wild caviar. Caviar producers are now turning to sturgeon farming in natural bodies of water as a means of preserving the species. Nowadays, farmed caviar accounts for the entirety of production worldwide.
Sturgeon feed on bottom-feeding prey that live in seas and ponds: shellfish, crustaceans, polychaetes… In fish farms, the food sturgeon receive is extremely important. The final quality of their eggs depends greatly on both the quality of the water they live in and their diet, which is made up primarily of crustaceans and pellets made out of GMO-free fish meal and fish oils, plant matter, minerals, and vitamins. Pellets are certified ‘GMO- and pesticide-free’.
Following the 2008 ban on fishing wild sturgeon, fish farms were set up to continue breeding sturgeon in fresh water lakes and ponds; known in French as esturgeonnières, they can now be found all across the globe, from Italy to China, Bulgaria to the USA. There are roughly 15 fish farms in France, located mostly in the Aquitaine Region, in the Gironde and Dordogne.
With an annual production of 20 tonnes, France is the world’s 3rd largest caviar producer after China and Italy. Traditional know-how dates back to the 19th century. Back then, fishermen in the Gironde area would harvest sturgeon eggs to feed chickens. During the inter-war period, when Russians arrived in France, the fishermen realised that they had ‘black gold’ on their hands. True to their reputation, the French are also keen consumers of caviar, with 15% of caviar produced in the world being eaten in France, beaten only by the Russians and the Americans.
It may be tempting to freeze caviar in the hope it will keep longer; doing so, however, is ill-advised. The roe are far too fragile and tend to burst when frozen, leaving behind a tin full of briny, caviar soup. If necessary, caviar can be deep frozen by exposing it to extremely low temperatures (-35°C); water in the caviar crystallises, ultimately reducing damage to the cell membranes. Nevertheless, aside from being somewhat useful in the food industry, this method is of little interest for food lovers. What point is there in trying to keep a tin of caviar indefinitely, anyway?! Earthly pleasures shouldn’t be made to wait!