Sturgeon are critically endangered long-lived fish farmed for caviar production, raising welfare questions about invasive egg harvesting methods and captive conditions.
Sturgeon welfare in caviar production involves both the individual experience of captive fish and the conservation implications for wild populations. Traditional lethal harvesting kills productive females after years of captive rearing - a welfare cost that also reduces breeding population potential. Non-lethal stripping - massaging eggs from fish under anaesthesia - offers better welfare outcomes and allows females to produce multiple clutches, improving farm economics alongside welfare. Captive conditions for sturgeon are challenging: these fish evolved for large river systems and require substantial tank volume and appropriate temperature cycles. The conservation dimension adds urgency - each farmed sturgeon that could potentially contribute to wild population restoration has value beyond individual welfare.