Roe (/roʊ/) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins, and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked ingredient in many dishes and as a raw ingredient. Roe from a sturgeon or sometimes other fish such as flathead grey mullet, is the raw base product from which caviar is made. The term soft roe or white roe denotes fish milt, not fish eggs.