The wild sturgeon fishing
industry was active for caviar production until the 1980s. Overfishing of wild sturgeon drastically reduced catches. Correspondingly, sturgeon
production by aquaculture has increased sharply since the 2,000s, and is now comparable
to the old catches. According to the 2007 statistics, China accounts for 80% of
the world’s sturgeon production. On the other hand, China accounts only for 5%
of the world’s caviar production. In China, sturgeon production
for meat is the main production, most of which is consumed in China. Caviar
production is, of course, carried out in China as well, and has been increasing
year by year.
