Caviar sturgeon from the Sea of Azov began reaching the tables of aristocratic and noble Byzantine Greeks in the 10th century, after the commencement of large-scale trading between the Byzantine Empire and Kievan Rus'. The main types of caviar are Beluga, Sterlet, Kaluga hybrid, American osetra, Ossetra, Siberian sturgeon and Sevruga. The rarest and costliest is from beluga sturgeon that swim in the Caspian Sea, which is bordered by Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan. Wild caviar production was suspended in Russia between 2008 and 2011 to allow wild stocks to replenish. Azerbaijan and Iran also allow the fishing of sturgeon
USS Sterlet (SS-392) patrol was given over to lifeguard duty for the crews of carrier planes and B-29 Superfortresses attacking Japan. "Sterlet" rescued a New Zealander and a Briton, one was near the Kii Channel between Shikoku and Honshu. When Japanese capitulation brought an end to the patrol, "Sterlet" returned to Midway on 23 August. On 6 September, she sailed for the United States entering reaching San Diego Naval Base ten days later. "Sterlet" remained on the West Coast until the end of February 1946, at San Diego until 13 November and at San Francisco, California, thereafter. On 26 February 1946, she started