Heavy metal bioaccumulation and risk assessment for wild and farmed beluga sturgeon caviar

Because of over-exploitation of sturgeon for caviar production, they have been listed worldwide in annex II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species regulations; so caviar production using aquaculture is increasingly seen as a feasible way to reduce overfishing. The accumulation of the nonessential metals As, Ba, Cd, Hg, Pb, and Sn was determined in the caviar of farmed and wild Beluga sturgeon (Huso huso). The levels of As in both and Cd in wild samples were less than 0.01 mg kg(-1) wet weight, and the comparison for all of the metals studied did not show large fluctuations in metal concentrations between farmed and wild caviar samples. The average for each toxic metal was below the permissible limits proposed by the UK's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Foods (2000). The maximum allowable daily consumption rate of caviar was calculated; however, the health risks from caviar consumption are uncertain because the amount of caviar consumed by heavy users is not known.