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The best caviar comes from beluga, osetra and servuga sturgeon. But these
species are now rare. As catches have been restricted to curb over-fishing so a
flourishing trade in poached caviar has sprung up. Robert Desalle and Vadim
Birstein of New York claim (W0 97/43618) they can accurately identify a
restricted species from a single egg in a few hours by DNA analysis. The
extracted DNA is compared with control specimens from the 27 species of
sturgeon. The test will help enforcement agencies to pinpoint the source of the
poached fish.