Baltic Caviar: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia

In 1996, the last documented historical Baltic Atlantic sturgeon was caught in Estonian waters. The species had dominated the region for at least 2,000 years. Modern caviar is a separate story. Latvia and Estonia have documented farmed-caviar operations, while Lithuanian businesses report local sturgeon farming and roe production. Processing also draws on externally sourced fish and roe.

Farming and wild restoration are separate endeavours. Genetic research clarified the wild population's identity: predominantly Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus, rather than the European sturgeon once assumed to live here.

Latvia: country facts

Latvia's caviar sector extends beyond the farm gate. Its investment agency documents Mottra's fish farming and processing of both homegrown and externally sourced fish. Sudrablīnis describes a broader roe-processing business, including salmon and other non-sturgeon roe. A Latvian processing address does not establish Latvian egg origin.

As of November 2026, the CITES register lists SIA Mottra, SIA Khan Caviar, SIA Sudrablīnis, SIA Akva agro, SIA Caviar of Eden, AS Ziedi JP, SIA Maison du caviar gastronomique and SIA IS FOOD. These eight entries identify registered operations, not eight independently verified farms.

Lithuania: country facts

At Vilūniškės, the business behind Žvejų namai says it raises sturgeons and sterlets and produces their roe. Šalčininkai Fish Farm also advertises Siberian sturgeon caviar, although the product listing alone does not establish where the parent fish were raised.

Šalčininkai gives its foundation date as 1966, not a verified beginning for Lithuanian sturgeon farming. FishFactory, meanwhile, describes processing salmon roe from Alaska: a clear example of Lithuanian processing with a fish origin elsewhere.

Estonia: country facts

Estonian-grown fish and Japanese production expertise are central to NÖVA's own account of its caviar, which describes a farm in the Pärnu area. Alongside that producer account, the public register locates Jaesto in Paatsalu and gives its registration date as 31 August 2021.

These details describe a particular production story, not a national flavour profile. Environmental performance needs separate evidence. Estonia's general aquaculture roe category does not identify the fish species, so its statistics cannot be treated as a sturgeon-caviar total.

The wild Baltic sturgeon: identity, decline and recovery

Ancient DNA rewrote the Baltic sturgeon's history. In their 2014 study, Popović and colleagues examined 125 ancient Baltic specimens. Only four were classified as European sturgeon, Acipenser sturio. The remainder were Atlantic sturgeon.

The authors concluded that Atlantic sturgeon had dominated the Baltic for at least 2,000 years, rather than arriving only in medieval times. That genetic evidence establishes the region's historical wild population and gives the restoration story its proper species.

• 1860s to 1920s: the principal period of historical population decline, according to the IUCN assessment. Overharvesting, river modification and pollution drove the loss.
• 1996: the last documented historical Baltic specimen was caught in Estonia.
• 2011: Lithuania began rearing Atlantic sturgeon for restoration, releasing juveniles into the Neris and Šventoji that autumn.
• 2019: HELCOM adopted its regional recovery action plan, covering the period to 2029.

Lithuania's Fisheries Service records 1,540 juveniles released in autumn 2011. It also describes the later development of broodstock, the adult fish kept for breeding, and transfers of juveniles to Latvian fisheries specialists. Restoration here is practical regional cooperation, not three isolated national projects.

The scale of the challenge remains stark. The Baltic subpopulation's 2022 IUCN publication classifies it as Critically Endangered, Possibly Extinct in the Wild, based on an assessment made in 2016. Hatchery releases should not be confused with recovery of a self-sustaining population, one that reproduces without continued stocking.

In Estonia, Wildlife Estonia documents releases in the Narva system and work with coastal fishermen. This is Atlantic sturgeon conservation, separate from commercial roe harvest. The Atlantic sturgeon account explores the fish itself.

What Baltic caviar is known for

Lightly salty, made with salt alone: that is how Mottra's UK distributor describes its caviar. This is a description of the product, not a sensory finding about Latvia as a whole. Where Mottra's distributor emphasises seasoning and ingredients, NÖVA foregrounds Estonian-grown fish and Japanese expertise. Žvejų namai describes its own sterlet roe and preservation choices.

Compare named products and documented methods. These accounts distinguish ingredients, fish origin and production choices, rather than establishing a single Baltic taste. Proximity to the Baltic Sea is no basis for assuming identical flavour.

Reading Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian origin

Start with the origin field, not the repacker's address. In the CITES labelling system, LV identifies Latvia, LT Lithuania and EE Estonia when those codes appear in that field. Country of origin and repacking location are separate information: a Latvian or Estonian repacker does not turn foreign roe into locally produced roe.

Then cross-check the legal operator and facility, rather than the marketing name, using checking a producer's registration. The label supplies traceability information; it cannot independently verify the contents.

Country of origin and repacking location are separate information: a Latvian or Estonian repacker does not turn foreign roe into locally produced roe.

The retrieved register has a combined processing/repackaging column and a separate exporter column. It covers caviar exporters and processing/repackaging operations, not every retailer or fish farm. As of November 2026, Lithuania's register lists UAB Fish Factory, registered on 28 January 2026.

The EU framework and overseas shipments

Wildlife-trade registration and food approval do different jobs. All three countries fall within Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 865/2006, the EU framework governing protected-species trade and caviar traceability. Food law separately governs processing establishments and their products.

The relevant food instruments include:

• Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 on general food law and traceability.
• Regulations (EC) Nos 852/2004 and 853/2004 on hygiene.
• Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on consumer information.

A CITES plant entry cannot replace food-establishment approval. Equally, a food approval number does not establish where the roe originated.

For shipments, distinguish movement within the EU from export beyond it. Commercial exports require the applicable CITES documentation and compliance with the destination's rules. EU registration alone does not establish that a consignment can enter another jurisdiction.

Check the destination before arranging a shipment. Rules differ across the UK, US, Switzerland, UAE, China, Japan, Russia and Australia, including biosecurity requirements. Great Britain and Northern Ireland must be treated separately when obtaining food-law advice. The EU's 125 g caviar exemption requires labelled containers and excludes commercial consignments.

Where to go next

• Europe: place the Baltic states alongside other documented European origins.
• Mottra: explore the Latvian producer separately from the country's wider processing sector.
• Polish Caviar: compare a neighbouring country's farming industry.
• Nordic Caviar: Finland and Sweden: distinguish nearby northern roe traditions from Baltic sturgeon farming.