Caviar is the processed, salted fish roe of particular types of fish, most significantly the sturgeon. It is commercially marketed worldwide as special and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Caviar is roe from sturgeon fished from the Caspian Sea by Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Is all fish eggs caviar?

All fish eggs are technically “roe”, but not all “roe” is caviar. The term caviar only applies to the fish roe in the sturgeon family Acipenseridae. Salmon roe and the roe from whitefish, trout, cod, red caviar, ikura, and tobiko, etc. are considered “caviar subsitutes” and not caviar.

Is caviar dead fish eggs?

Almost all caviar is harvested from dead fish. ... A female that's ready to spawn might be swollen with pounds of black caviar clumped together on her ovaries. Once she releases these eggs into the water, they're much harder to collect, clean, and package.