The maximum amount of sturgeon and paddlefish caviar allowed to be taken across EU borders will be reduced from the current limit of 250 grams to 125 grams per person.
The new rules also implement the universal labeling system for caviar introduced under the 1975 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The label will specify the source of the caviar and the year of harvest.
The move comes in an effort to combat the declining sturgeon population in the Caspian Sea, which has dwindled almost forty-fold in the last 15 years due to widespread poaching in the region.
The Caspian Sea sturgeon accounts for almost 90% of the world's caviar industry.
The EU is the world's largest importer of caviar. EU countries imported 591 tones of caviar in 2006, while a total of 12 tones of illegal caviar were seized between 2000 and 2005.
Russia and Iran are the largest caviar exporters to the EU.
