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The Starry Sturgeon or
Sevruga Sturgeon
The Starry Sturgeon (Acipenser
stellatus Pallas, 1771) gains its name from the very apparent star shaped scales or
"scutes" which run along both its flanks. It is a medium sized sturgeon, growing
to over 2m when fully grown.
A particularly important
member of the sturgeon family: Firstly, as the producer of the famous Sevruga Caviar,
secondly for its meat which is considered excellent and much sought after. Additionally,
its cured skins are valued for a varied range of uses including drum making. Iran also
processes its swim bladders to produce the specialist glue isinglass still favoured by
many conservators of books, manuscripts and paintings.
It is still native to the
Caspian, Azov and Black Seas and is found in many rivers within the catchment of these
seas. It is also found in the Adriatic, although it is now extremely rare. It is thought
to be extinct in the Aegean Sea.
Fishing methods are
various; including baited lines, nets and weirs. The main countries where the Starry
Sturgeon are still caught and processed are Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Romania and
Russia. The Czech Republic who are familiar with the species, as their border river the
Danube used to support a large population, are now farming them commercially. Sevruga
Sturgeon Caviar is most often sold in red toped tins and jars.
Other names for Starry
Sturgeon
French -Esturgeon
Sevruga / Esturgion Étoilé
German - Sevruga Stör / Stern Hausen / Scherg
Dutch - Ster Steur
Italian - Storione Stellato
Spanish - Esturión Estrellado
Portuguese - Esturjão Estrelado
Czech - Jester Hvezdnaty
Romanian - Pastruga
Hungarian - Söreg Tok
Greek - (Stourióni)
Polish - Siewruga
Russian - Sevryuga
Danish - Sevruga Stør / Stjerne Hus
Swedish - Sevruga Stör / Stjärn Stör
Norwegian - Sevruga
Icelandic - Stjörnu Styrja
Finnish - Tähti Sampi
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