California game wardens battle sturgeon poachers as ancient fish face extinction for illegal caviar trade

California’s ancient sturgeon populations are under siege from poachers seeking the valuable eggs that become luxury caviar, prompting dramatic rescue efforts by state wildlife officials. In a remarkable 2022 incident at Clifton Court Forebay in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, game wardens responding to a poaching tip found a 65-inch green sturgeon barely alive in the back of a suspect’s SUV. The officers spent 90 minutes at a nearby marina manually moving water through the fish’s gills until it recovered enough to swim away.

This successful rescue highlights a growing problem across California’s waterways. Earlier this year, Department of Fish and Wildlife officers discovered two separate groups of suspected poachers on the Sacramento River who had caught large sturgeon and attempted to hide them 100 yards away underwater. Officers quickly confiscated and released the fish back into the wild.

The illegal sturgeon trade is driven by the astronomical value of their eggs, which are processed into caviar—one of the world’s most expensive delicacies. These prehistoric fish, some species of which have survived for over 200 million years, are now critically endangered due to overfishing, habitat loss, and persistent poaching pressure.

California’s sturgeon face a precarious future as enforcement officers wage an ongoing battle against illegal harvesting. While some rescue efforts succeed, each poaching incident represents a significant loss for species already struggling to maintain viable populations in the state’s heavily altered river systems.