Vietnam sees potential in sturgeon

Three years after a pilot breeding programme of sturgeon started, Vietnam checks the potential for the sturgeons, following an announcement that the first batch bred has already laid eggs.

Dr Bui The Anh, a sturgeon expert from the Research Institute of Aquaculture 1 (RIA 1), said the specie can be cultivated successfully in the Vietnam's cold-water mountainous areas.

He said that while France took 30 years and Russia six years to produce sturgeon eggs, Vietnam has achieved egg hatching in just over three years.

The first batch of sturgeon eggs is expected to be harvested in March or April of this year.

Anh added that further breeding of sturgeon can help Vietnam's aquaculture.

Sturgeon, a species of fish that appeared on the earth approximately 100 million years ago, is renowned for its delicious and nutritious meat, particularly when smoked. Sturgeon roe, or caviar, is a prized gourmet worldwide with prices ranging from US$4,000 to US$6,000/ kg in the world market.

Sturgeon can also be found in the waters of the Caspian Sea, the Northern Pacific Ocean and the Black Sea. On the average, the breed in Caspian region of Russia reportedly has the longest life.

Wild sturgeon is at risk of extinction as a result of overfishing due to its high economic value, prompting the United Nations to include the species in the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), which forbids the import of wild sturgeon roe.