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December 13, 2006
Subject:
Availability of Factsheet on Buying Imported Caviar
Background: U.S. bans on the importation
of beluga sturgeon (including caviar) from the Caspian Sea and Black Sea
basins (which went into effect September 30 and October 28, 2005
respectively) have raised questions among consumers about what (if any
beluga caviar) can still be legally purchased in this country. Confusion
also exists about how 2006 caviar trade quotas agreed to under the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) affect the availability
of imported caviar in U.S. market. Companies involved in the caviar trade
may be asked to answer these questions.
Action: Members of the trade community
dealing in caviar may want to review the new U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service factsheet titled “Buying
Imported Caviar: Guidelines for U.S. Consumers” and refer
customers and consumers to this document when appropriate. This
guidance is posted in the “Importers/Exporters” section
of the Office of Law Enforcement website (http://www.fws.gov/le/).
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