Russian Caviar Harvested In Israel

KIBBUTZ DAN, ISRAEL - APRIL 22: Tiny sturgeon eggs are bunched on a pair of tweezers as an Israeli worker prepares caviar for packing at a processing plant on April 22, 2009 in Kibbutz Dan, Israel. Far from the Caspian Sea, where over fishing and pollution have slashed yields of this prized delicacy, fish farmers at this kibbutz are reaping the rewards of years of hard work and are cashing in on the global caviar crisis. After retail prices for caviar soared to as much as USD 5,000 a kilogram, the kibbutz turned from breeding the fish from imported Russian Osetra stock for its meat to rearing the fish in special ponds for as long as ten years to harvest their roe. According to Yigal Ben Tzvi, the managing director of Caviar Galilee, his caviar is lauded by connoisseurs and orders from Japan, America, Europe and even Russia account for all his annual production of some 2,000 kilograms. (Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images)