Eumofa: Italy is the largest sturgeon producer in the EU

In the same study, the European Fish and Seafood Market Monitoring Service acknowledges that most sturgeons are raised in aquaculture for caviar production. However, "the economic viability of sturgeon aquaculture farms depends on the availability of a market for their meat." Depending on the species, it takes 8 to 10 years for a female sturgeon to reach sexual maturity; the period during which the meat of male sturgeon fish is the main product in the volume produced in sturgeon farms. However, once the female caviar population is established, meat remains an important commodity for sturgeon farms. According to Eumofa, there has been strong growth in sturgeon aquaculture production over the past 20 years, mainly due to production in China. In 2002, the world production of sturgeon was 4100 tons, half of which was produced in Russia and the rest in the EU. World production tripled in 2003, driven by China's production, which exceeded 9,000 tons. In 2020, China accounted for 84% of ...