Can you farm beluga sturgeon?
Beluga sturgeon are some of the oldest fish in existence, thought to be over 250 million years old. But these days, the Beluga species are critically endangered. Sturgeon Aquafarms is the only operation with a granted legal exemption to farm and harvest the rare Beluga caviar variety in the United States.
Why is beluga banned in the US?
Legality. In 2005, the United States made it illegal to import beluga caviar and beluga sturgeon into the country, because of the animal’s endangered status. Many other countries allow for the import and export of beluga sturgeon caviar, as the fish has started making a comeback in recent years.
Can sturgeon be farmed?
Acipenser baerii, the Siberian sturgeon, is the principal species farmed widely throughout the world. transmontanus, the White sturgeon, which is mainly farmed in the United States but also in Italy. There is increasing interest in farming the Beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) for its favored beluga caviar.
How much does beluga caviar cost?
Beluga caviar is the most expensive type of caviar, with present market prices ranging from $7,000 to $10,000 per 1 kg (2.2 lb) or $200–$300 per ounce.
Can you get beluga caviar in USA?
But there’s one kind that U.S. consumers haven’t been able to get. True beluga caviar—the roe from a beluga sturgeon—has been illegal in America since 2005, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) banned the import of all beluga products from the Caspian Sea. Caviar is in the midst of a worldwide boom.
Why is there no more beluga?
It’s possible you might have not been aware that Beluga caviar was previously banned from America, since 2005. The reason it was forbidden for so long, was due to the efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to protect the species from extinction.
Can you buy beluga caviar in the US?
The ultra-rare beluga caviar is once again available for purchase in America, starting at a cool $420 for a half oz. Until now, the coveted fish roe has been sourced from beluga sturgeon in the Caspian Sea, and before 2005, the U.S. imported 80 percent of the world’s supply.
How much does a caviar farm make?
If everything goes as planned, in about nine years its eggs will be harvested for caviar, which in today’s market can sell for up to $35,000 per kilogram. We visited one of the largest beluga farms in the world to find out how this expensive delicacy gets from farm to spoon.
Is caviar farming cruel?
Decimated by fishing, depleted sturgeon populations in the Baltic and Caspian seas—the native waters of these sensitive, intelligent fish—have prompted caviar producers around the world to switch to industrialized aquaculture farms. But no matter how it’s obtained, caviar is always a product of cruelty and death.
How are sturgeon farmed?
The Siberian sturgeon can be reared using a wide variety of systems: raceways, circular tanks, large pools in intensive farming, ponds and cages.
How fast do sturgeon grow?
Growth in length is rather rapid during the first few years with the fish attaining the former legal size of 30 inches in about 7 years. A 40-inch sturgeon would be approximately 13 years old and a 50-inch fish, 20 years.
Can Beluga caviar be farm raised in the US?
But there is some news worth noting: For the first time, beluga caviar, the roe of the largest variety of sturgeon, native to the Caspian Sea, has been successfully farm-raised in the United States.
Where are the beluga and Sevruga breeds?
Our History After successfully importing Beluga, Sevruga and Osetra broodstock on 13 trans-atlantic flights from Europe and 7 years of permit applications, they finally reached their current home near the borders of Alabama and Georgia in Bascom, Florida.
Why choose Sturgeon Aquafarms?
Sturgeon Aquafarms uses Floridan Aquifer water, the same water used as drinking water for Florida residents, to raise its fish. Sturgeon Aquafarms uses only natural feed, free of hormones, antibiotics and other pollutants, which ensures a high nutritional value and the highest quality meat and caviar.