The Only Legal Beluga Caviar Sold In The US Is From This State

Beluga sturgeon, also known as Huso huso, is a prehistoric fish species whose existence dates back over 200 million years. They can reach 23 feet in length and are capable of carrying massive swaths of eggs. This made beluga sturgeon a desirable source of caviar, and rendered the fish critically endangered due to overfishing. From 1985 to 2005, the Caspian Sea saw a steep, 90% decline in its beluga sturgeon population. This led, in part, to the 2005 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ban on products relating to beluga sturgeon harvested from the Caspian Sea. However, in 2016, Sturgeon Aquafarms in Jackson County, Florida, obtained what remains the only existing exception to this rule. 

Beluga caviar is among the most expensive types of caviar,  selling for up to $280 per half-ounce at Marky's, Sturgeon Aquafarms' gourmet caviar store. Part of its high price tag comes down to taste. What does this caviar taste like? Caviar connoisseurs describe the flavor as buttery with a nutty aftertaste. Texture is also part of the appeal. Beluga caviar has a velvety, melt-in-your-mouth feel. Its rarity on the market is another contributor to the cost.

Sturgeon Aquafarms successfully raised its own beluga sturgeon from fish purchased from Bulgaria and Russia in 2003, in anticipation of the ban. It took nearly 20 years to raise and cultivate caviar from this elusive fish, partially due to the beluga sturgeon's lengthy reproductive cycles. It can take females 10 years or more to reach reproductive maturity, after which point, harvesting eggs is possible.

One reason Beluga caviar is among the most expensive caviars in the world is that it's challenging to raise and harvest. In addition to the legal red tape and the species' long reproductive cycle, actually harvesting the eggs is a delicate process. At Sturgeon Aquafarms, workers must perform an ultrasound, sometimes followed by a biopsy, to determine if eggs are optimal, and this is just the beginning.

If eggs are ready, the fish must stay in the right stage of ovulation to produce high-grade caviar until harvest. This requires putting fish in hibernation mode by transferring them to a dark, cold tank and gradually decreasing the temperature. After the fish are humanely killed and their eggs extracted, it takes a few days to dry, salt, and portion the eggs before they're ready to sell.

Sturgeon Aquafarms must follow strict guidelines to maintain the right to farm-raise and harvest beluga sturgeon. The owners can no longer take fish directly from the wild and must promote beluga sturgeon conservation efforts. So far, the farm has complied. In 2016 and 2017, it even sent hundreds of thousands of fertilized sturgeon eggs abroad to help repopulate the Caspian Sea.