Caviar Poaching Ring Busted for Killing 250 Sturgeon

Six men face probation, fines, and loss of hunting and fishing privileges for their roles in a caviar poaching ring that illegally harvested hundreds of shovelnose sturgeon from the Mississippi River in Minnesota. Between May 2020 and May 2021, the group cut open and harvested eggs from dozens of fish, throwing several carcasses back into the water once the roe was removed. They kept other fish, which they hauled away in trash bags.

A joint effort between Minnesota and Wisconsin game wardens eventually resulted in charges. In order to gather enough evidence, the officers spent hundreds of hours staked out on the Mississippi disguised as shoreline fishermen.

The suspects are mostly Milwaukee men, including Vladimiras Parsikovas, Soma Miller, Sergej Jestrebov, and Viktor Parsikovas. Artyom Miller of Mequon, Wisconsin, and Pioter Miller of McKinney, Texas, were also involved, according to a press release from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

A Sturgeon Stakeout

A variety of public records from the Minnesota district court system detail long nights of spring fishing, sturgeon carcasses with slit-open stomachs, abandoned lines, and bulging plastic bags filled with sturgeon eggs.

Incident reports from Minnesota game warden Tyler Ramaker and Wisconsin game warden Tyler Strelow give a play-by-play account of one particular 12-hour stakeout near Clement’s Fishing Barge and the Genoa Dam in southeastern Minnesota. The surveillance lasted from 4 p.m. on May 21, 2020 through roughly 4 a.m. on May 22. The two officers watched Vladimiras Parsikovas, Artyom Miller, Soma Miller, and an individual who they believe was Pioter Miller commit a string of fishing violations. These ranged from leaving baited lines unattended to wanton waste of carcasses.

Strelow arrived at the location on May 21 wearing plainclothes. He set up as a shoreline fisherman and Ramaker joined him later. The poachers showed up an hour after Strelow in a 1999 Monark with a grey Honda outboard motor. They set up their gear and started fishing, using large spin rods with sinkers and single hooks baited with worms and minnows.

By 4 a.m. the next morning, the game wardens had witnessed the men catch and keep 89 shovelnose sturgeon; Parsikovas with 25, Artyom Miller with 22, Soma Miller with 21, and Pioter Miller with 23. These do not include the 20-plus fish that the men cut open, harvested eggs from, and tossed back into the river during the stakeout. The daily bag limit for shovelnose sturgeon in Minnesota is three fish.

This was just one of many egregious poaching incidents that officers witnessed in that location. From mid-May to mid-June 2020, they observed Parsikovas, sometimes joined by Sergev Jastrebrov, catching over the limit of shovelnose sturgeon and fishing with three or more lines at once (Minnesota anglers are only allowed two lines at a time) on five other occasions. The poachers harvested at least 20 sturgeon across those incidents.

It’s unclear what role Viktor Parsikovas played in the poaching ring, as his name was not mentioned in the incident reports. He also received the least severe penalties of the group.

Officers also observed Artyom and Soma Miller seven additional times between mid-April and the end of May in 2021. Sometimes joined by other unidentified anglers, the duo harvested a total of 146 sturgeon across these incidents. Many of those fish were tossed back in the river with their bellies slit open after the eggs were removed.

Altogether, game wardens documented the group catching and killing at least 255 shovelnose sturgeon over approximately one year.

Why Shovelnose Sturgeon?

Details of the case led officers to believe that the poachers were targeting the fish for their eggs. Shovelnose sturgeon, also known as sand sturgeon or hackleback sturgeon, produce caviar that sells for approximately $45 per ounce. (This actually makes it the least expensive sturgeon caviar on the market.) Its flavor is described as nutty, buttery, and rich.

Shovelnose sturgeon are classified as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service due to their similarity in appearance to another endangered species, the pallid sturgeon. (This means the species itself isn’t threatened, but a shovelnose is too difficult for many anglers to consistently distinguish from a pallid.) The International Union for the Conservation of Nature also classifies shovelnose sturgeon as vulnerable.

Similar to other sturgeon species, shovelnose are especially sensitive to over-harvest. They are a “slow-growing species that may spawn just three or four times in their lifetime,” according to MDNR.

Anglers can catch shovelnose sturgeon below the Red Wing Dam year-round, where there’s a daily bag limit of three fish. (Other sturgeon waters in Minnesota like the St. Croix and St. Louis rivers don’t allow sturgeon harvest in May and only allow catch-and-release during the rest of the year, according to MDNR regulations.)

Read Next: 7-Foot Sturgeon Discovered in Poacher’s Sedan, Nine Arrested in Connection with Massive Illegal Caviar Operation

Despite the laundry list of fishing violations, none of the poachers will see the inside of a jail cell, and all will be able to hunt and fish legally again in, at most, a decade. While Ramaker calls the bust a “great example of teamwork across states, agencies, and the county prosecutor’s office” that “sends a clear message that wildlife crimes will not be tolerated,” others are less sure.

“Two years of investigation, six fines,” writes one commenter on a Facebook post regarding the incident. “Was it worth it?”

Convictions and Penalties

Vladimiras Parsikovas:

One count, take gross overlimits of wild animals (gross misdemeanor)
Two counts, angle with more than two lines/bait; unattended line (gross misdemeanor)
Paid wildlife restitution of $2,200 and fine of $275
Six months’ probation
10-year revocation of all fishing and hunting privileges
Also found guilty in Wisconsin of improperly transporting game from another state

Soma Miller:

One count, take gross overlimits of wild animals
One count, wanton waste of a game animal (gross misdemeanor)
Paid wildlife restitution of $2,200 and fine of $175
Two years’ probation
10-year revocation of all fishing and hunting privileges

Artyom Miller:

One count, take gross overlimits of wild animals
Paid wildlife restitution of $2,000 and fine of $75
One year probation
10-year revocation of all fishing and hunting privileges
Also found guilty in Wisconsin of improperly transporting game from another state

Sergej Jestrebov