Most would not view the Hoosier homeland as the base of an illegal, six-figure-per-year seafood operation but that’s what Indiana Conservation Officers apparently found on the tributaries of the Ohio River, in Vevay. U.S. News and World Report magazine ran the item in the Cross Country section of its May 7 issue.
Undercover officers posing as illegal fishermen for 1 1/2 years infiltrated the ring, the members of which were charged with illegally harvesting and selling “caviar” from the river’s paddlefish.
Twelve arrests were made on a combined 39 felony charges. A charge of “illegal sale of a wild animal” was included in each individual’s list of charges. Officers also confiscated four boats, three vehicles, processing equipment, fishing equipment and records. Illicit drugs and large sums of cash were also taken from some of those arrested. All were southern Indiana residents.
Technically, caviar is sturgeon eggs; however, there is a shortage of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea, the main source for the culinary delicacy. That has created a lucrative worldwide market for paddlefish eggs, which have a similar taste, look and consistency to the real thing.
One paddlefish can yield $600 to $800 in eggs. Annual income for illegal harvesting is $100,000 to $400,000 per year per fisherman.
Paddlefish can be legally harvested by commercial fishermen in the main stream of the Ohio but all tributaries, where much of the fishing is taking place, is protected because of the heavy concentrations of spawning fish there.
Paddlefish are not believed to be endangered; however, due to their elusive nature, researching them is difficult. Paddlefish numbers are believed to be dropping, although the fish frequently occur in large groups, especially below dams, and are highly mobile. This gives the impression that they are abundant when in fact, they may not be, according to Bill James, state chief of fisheries.
