Sturgeon caviar a first in Canada
When the B.C.-based Target Marine Products decided to diversify its salmon farming business and to go into production of sturgeon caviar, it didn’t expect to have to wait 11 years to see its first harvest of the “black gold”. But this year the first of the magnificent domestically produced fish- some weighing as much as a hundred kilos.
It takes about one hour to extract the caviar from a single fish, as the eggs have to be carefully separated from the physical structure of the fish’s ovaries. A five-person crew can thus do up to 7 fish per day. One fish can typically produce some 6-8 kilos of caviar, which is anticipated to fetch some CAD$ 3,000 (~€2,200) per kilo in the retail market. The fish itself has been selling for about CAD$ 20 (~€2.20) per kilo.
After extraction, the eggs are cleaned for biological contaminants (remnants of ovaries, fatty tissue and dead eggs), washed and then weighed. Salt is added, and the caviar is put into storage containers to mature. Target Marine doesn’t know exactly what to expect from the market place, but early indications show an extremely good quality of the small amounts produced so far. Each fish is different, however, and the quality can be variable.
Stay tuned for a detailed report from the Target Marine sturgeon operation in a future issue of FishfarmingXpert magazine
