Is Sturgeon kosher?

Q: Is Sturgeon kosher?

Sturgeon is not kosher according to Jewish dietary law. Not kosher per the Orthodox Union, Chabad, and the overwhelming majority of Orthodox authorities: sturgeon have ganoid scales, which do not meet the halachic definition of scales (they cannot be removed without tearing the skin). Their roe, true caviar, is also not kosher.

No — Sturgeon is not kosher under Jewish dietary law.

Not kosher per the Orthodox Union, Chabad, and the overwhelming majority of Orthodox authorities: sturgeon have ganoid scales, which do not meet the halachic definition of scales (they cannot be removed without tearing the skin). Their roe, true caviar, is also not kosher.

Image: Photo by Pierre André · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Scientific name: Acipenser
Hebrew name: חדקן
Also known as: Beluga sturgeon, White sturgeon, Lake sturgeon, Russian sturgeon
Category: scaleless
Fins & scales: Fins ✓ , no scales ✗
Kosher status: Not kosher

About Sturgeon

Ancient family of large, bony fish with ganoid scales arranged in rows along the body. The source of true caviar. Acipenser is a genus of sturgeons, containing three species native to freshwater and estuarine systems of eastern North America and Europe. It is the type genus of the family Acipenseridae and the order Acipenseriformes. Acipenser is a genus of sturgeons, containing three species native to freshwater and estuarine systems of eastern North America and Europe. It is the type genus of the family Acipenseridae and the order Acipenseriformes. Taxonomy Prior to 2025, Acipenser contained almost all species in the Acipenseridae outside of Huso and the "shovelnose" sturgeons (Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus). However, such a placement is now known to be paraphyletic with respect to the other genera, and these species have since been split into Huso and Sinosturio. Acipenser in the strict sense (sensu stricto) has been redefined with only 3 species. This is an ancient genus, with phylogenetic evidence suggesting that it is the most basal sturgeon genus, having diverged from other sturgeons during the Early Cretaceous period. Several fossil species known as far back as the Late Cretaceous, with the fossils of two species (A. praeparatorum and A. amnisinferos) known from mass mortality assemblages thought to immediately follow the Chicxulub impact, the beginning of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. However, the classification of these fossil species is uncertain under the new taxonomy; for...