More than 100 people from eight states were issued citations or arrest warrants this week for their alleged involvement with paddlefish poaching on the Osage River near Warsaw.
According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, a two-year undercover investigation by the MDC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found numerous offenses of female paddlefish, also called spoonbills, that had been poached for their eggs, which are used in caviar. The MDC states that 20 or more pounds of eggs can be harvested from a large pregnant paddlefish, netting potentially $4,000 worth of caviar on the black market.
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