Beluga caviar Service to ban in 2005 the importation of beluga caviar which originated in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea basin. In 2006, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) suspended all trade made with the traditional caviar-producing regions of the Caspian and Black Seas (Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga), (Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine) due to the producing countries' failure to apply international regulations and recommendations. Caviar from Iran is exempted from the ban. Iran is considered by CITES to practice effective conservation and policing of its fisheries. In January 2007,
Sterlet become self-sustaining. Today, the majority of the international trade involves sterlets from aquaculture. The sterlet's main source of food is benthic organisms; they commonly feed on crustaceans, worms, and insect larvae. The sterlet commonly reaches the age of 22 to 25 years. Males reach sexual maturity at 3–7 years old and females at 4–12 years old. Spawning occurs from the middle of April to the beginning of June. Females may lay from 15,000–44,000 eggs, at water temperatures preferably 12–17 °C (54–63 °F). Sterlets require relatively large ponds with good water conditions, and may get entangled in plants such as blanketweed.