WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The United States has extended its ban on imported and rare caviar.
The Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday that the ban on beluga caviar would not only include that found in the Caspian Sea but the Black Sea basin as well, The New York Times reports.
Wildlife experts had urged the original Caspian ban, which started in September, because of the increased strain on sturgeon caviar stocks in the region.
The ban starts now and any caviar already in the country can only be sold for the next year and a half.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the ban would stay in effect until the countries that produce the beluga caviar put plans into place to replenish the stocks.
The ban does not include any other caviar, such as osetra or sevruga, or any from farm-raised sturgeon.
