2500 years of caviar history

Sturgeon are one of the world’s oldest species going back 250 million years, having survived the dinosaurs. Instead of scales, five rows of large bony plates or shields (called scutes) cover the Sturgeon’s leather-like skin. The scutes provide protection against predators and add to the fish’s primitive appearance. Sturgeon are one of the most ancient groups of bony fishes, a relict from the Mesozoic era. These characteristics are known from fishes present during the Devonian period, which occurred 360-408 million years ago.

The best-known Sturgeon, the Beluga with its home in the Caspian Sea, is the largest known freshwater fish (the largest one on record weighed in at 2,175kg). The first written record of caviar can be found in the journals of Batu Khan (Ghengis Khan’s grandson) dating back to the 1240s.

Noticing the decline of this valuable resource, the old Soviet Union imposed very strict controls on caviar and learnt how to spawn Sturgeon in the late eighteen hundreds, releasing the fingerlings back into the Caspian Sea. Unfortunately most of the eggs of the mature Sturgeon in the Caspian Sea are now non-fertile due to genetic malformation directly attributable to the high pollution levels.
It took 20 years of research, but in the early 1990s science finally found a way to successfully farm 2 smaller species of Sturgeon: a native of Siberia (acipenser baeri) in France and, in America, the native white Sturgeon (acipenser transmontanus). Farming enables complete control over the fish’s lifecycle and harvesting of the roe at the optimal time, guaranteeing a consistent quality and, best of all, without endangering the already depleted wild Sturgeon population.

The acipenser baeri is the only species of Sturgeon capable of feeding on food in suspension, whereas all other Sturgeon are bottom feeders. Farming Sturgeon for caviar is a risky and expensive business demanding lots of patience as it takes 2 years before the young fish’s gender can be determined and after separating the males from the females (the males for meat and the females for caviar and meat) it takes a further 6 years for the female to carry her first set of eggs.

Esturiones Del Rio Negro is so far the only Sturgeon farm in the southern hemisphere. It was built by Walter H. Alcalde Dayviere in Baygorria, the pristine lake of the Rio Negro Hydroelectric Scheme, with the help of the Russian Government (who identified this pristine and perfect breeding location by using satellite technology). The Russians assist with technical advice and farming techniques and supply personnel and Russian Sturgeon breeding stock (imported from the Lena and Ob rivers in Siberia). Esturiones Del Rio Negro utilises pontoon-floating cages at the edge of the fastest flowing water in depths of up to 10m.

ZwyerCaviar delivers to you the highest quality caviar on the planet, fresh from the virgin waters of Rio Negro.