Sturgeon are among the world's most endangered fish, driven toward extinction by caviar demand, habitat loss, and overfishing, with individual welfare harms at every stage.
Wild sturgeon welfare harms are driven by demand for caviar: fish caught for eggs are killed in the process, often after decades of growth. Aquaculture caviar production avoids killing wild fish but confines long-lived, wide-ranging fish in tanks for years. Sturgeon evolved for extensive migrations in large river systems — tank confinement represents a profound behavioural deprivation for a species whose natural range may be thousands of kilometres. Conservation and welfare both point toward elimination of wild capture and development of welfare-conscious aquaculture standards.