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 BBC's Moscow correspondent Andrew Harding"This year the fish and their precious eggs haven't appeared"  real 28k |
Russia says it may have to stop exporting the expensive delicacy for the first time in a century.
Officials blame bad weather, poaching and pollution for the dwindling numbers of sturgeon - the fish whose eggs produce one of the world's priciest gourmet treats.
Russian fishermen on the Volga River catch around 20% of the world's black caviar, tearing it out of the bellies of giant sturgeon, a species as old as the dinosaurs.
Not spawning
But this year, fewer fish are coming into the Volga delta from the Caspian Sea to spawn.
Caviar facts |
Caspian sturgeon's three species - sevruga, beluga, osciotr Best (and most expensive) - beluga Eaten Russian-style on thin pancakes (blinis) washed down with vodka Or on thin toast with champagne |
Vladimir Izmailov of the Russian Fisheries Committee said exports might be suspended altogether.
Price doubled
The price on the international market doubled last year to almost $1,460 a kilo, and could rise even further.
The black market price in Moscow is around a tenth of the official price.
The fish are now protected by an international treaty, but in countries like Russia, the poachers are often more powerful and better equipped than the police.
Moscow' dominance in the world market is currently threatened by Iran and Azerbaijan on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea.
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