Wednesday July 2, 2025
SF Gate —
Caviar traffickers operating along the Sacramento River were busted as part of a ramped up enforcement effort by state wildlife officers against illegal sturgeon and salmon poaching, officials said.
Organized poaching groups are targeting protected fish using “advanced countersurveillance techniques,” the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Special Operations Unit said in a news release this week. The agency’s actions come as the populations of both fish remain under stress.
With the species under consideration for designation as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act, white sturgeon fishing is currently limited to catch and release. Salmon fishing on the Sacramento and American rivers has been closed since 2023, but parts of the American River are scheduled to reopen in mid-July.
In its release, CDFW said there is a “high demand and profitability of illegal caviar trafficking.” Sturgeon caviar, particularly from species like the white sturgeon, can command a hefty profit. The California Caviar Company lists 1-ounce tins of white sturgeon caviar ranging from $85 to $105, depending on the variety. Meanwhile, salmon roe — also known as red caviar — ranges from $8 to $12 per ounce depending on species and preparation.
In recent weeks, CDFW said wildlife officers conducted surveillance and stopped cars as part of the enforcement actions. In one operation, two groups were caught with “illegally possessed sturgeon” hidden about 100 yards from where they caught the fish. Both sturgeon were released back into the Sacramento River, the release said. Officers issued citations, though charges are still pending.
A separate probe into Dungeness crab trafficking also led officers to uncover a broader salmon poaching operation that may have involved approximately 75 of the fish taken illegally from the American River during the seasonal closure, CDFW said. Investigators found evidence of a coordinated effort to harvest and process salmon roe for the black market and seized more than 150 pounds of packaged roe.
Two people were charged with illegally capturing “an endangered or threatened” species in connection with the sturgeon poaching cases. One of them had a previous record of salmon snagging, a method that involves forcibly hooking a fish outside its mouth using barbed tools or gaffs, according to wildlife officials.