Innovation: bye-bye beluga?

Chief Executive, The, June, 2004 by Amy Cortese

ATTENTION CAVIAR LOVERS: The beluga sturgeon has been officially deemed a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The April ruling stopped short of a ban, but an international body may severely restrict or outright ban trade in the coveted eggs later this year.

There is no doubt the sturgeon, an ancient fish that can live up to 100 years and weigh more than a ton, is in dire straits. Years of over-fishing have depleted the population. The number of beluga sturgeon, the Caspian variety that produces the most desirable roe, has plunged by 90 percent in the past two decades, according to SeaWeb, an environmental group. Prices for beluga caviar have shot up to more than $100 an ounce.

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But you don't have to swear off fine caviar. A domestic caviar industry is thriving, offering guilt-free alternatives that can stand up to some of the Caspian's best.

Several varieties of sturgeon are native to American lakes and streams, and thanks to strict controls on fishing and investments in aquatic farms, they're making a comeback. Dozens of U.S. producers are harvesting roe from farmed and wild sturgeon, as well as from close cousins such as the paddlefish. Beluga sturgeon is not indigenous to the U.S., but the American white sturgeon produces eggs that are similar to imported osetra, considered the second-finest caviar after beluga. The nutty-tasting domestic eggs are typically a little smaller than eggs from mature sturgeon of the Caspian, so they may have less of a pop in the mouth. But they have fooled many connoisseurs who, in blind taste tests, were unable to distinguish them from imported varieties. And domestic brands are a better value to boot.

The homegrown delicacy is catching on with leading chefs, including Thomas Keller of the Napa Valley's French Laundry and Nora Pouillon of Restaurant Nora in Washington, D.C., both of whom serve it in place of imported caviar. "There is some excellent domestic caviar being produced," says chef Kerry Heffermen, who includes it on his menu at Eleven Madison Park in New York. "The quality is getting better and better."

If you'd like to sample the local fare, there are several options. Stolt Sea Farms in Elverta, Calif., makes caviar from farmed white sturgeon. Its Sterling Classic sells for $38 an ounce; top of the line Sterling Imperial fetches $49 an ounce. Tsar Niccoulai offers California osetra starting at $51 an ounce, compared with $54 an ounce for the imported osetra it sells. Paddlefish roe, such as that offered by L'Osage Catfisheries in Osage Beach, Mo., is an even better deal, starting at $28 an ounce.

All told, the U.S. now produces around 70,000 pounds, or 35 tons, of caviar a year. That's back to levels not seen since the 1800s and 1900s, when the U.S. was the world's largest producer of caviar. In those days, the sturgeon and their roe were so plentiful that caviar was served in bars like peanuts.

Kind of makes you nostalgic for the old days.