Idaho farmers may see profit from beluga ban

~ Caviar farmers are starting their first commercial harvest this week.

BOISE, Idaho -- With the federal government's ban on beluga caviar from the Black Sea basin taking effect just before the busy holiday season, all eyes are turning to -- Idaho?

The state's burgeoning aquaculture industry is hoping its farm-raised white sturgeon caviar will help fill the gap left by beluga on upscale menus. Several Idaho caviar farmers are starting their first commercial harvest this week.

"It really comes at a good time for us," said Linda Lemmon, secretary of the Idaho Aquaculture Association and owner of Blind Canyon Aquaranch, a trout and sturgeon farm near Hagerman. "We are really getting our first caviars on the market, so this will hopefully be a positive aspect for us."

U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials have listed beluga sturgeon populations as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. On Friday, the agency said imports of beluga sturgeon would be banned immediately from Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey and Ukraine. There also is a trade ban in beluga sturgeon's caviar and meat from the Caspian Sea.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the bans would continue "until there is significant progress" with conservation programs in the Caspian and Black Sea regions.

The ban and the rumors that preceded it have driven up prices, said Betsy Sherrow, the president of the gourmet retail store, Seattle Caviar Co. Sherrow was on her way to Europe to inspect and purchase beluga when the ban was announced, and had to cancel her trip.

"The price for everything has gone up," Sherrow said. "In fact, our cost has doubled. The market price for Black Sea beluga last Christmas was $98 an ounce, and this Christmas it will probably be close to $200."

Sherrow's biggest seller is osetra caviar, the roe that white sturgeon is most commonly compared to. Sherrow and her husband, Dale Sherrow, have been meeting regularly with Idaho fish farmers in hopes of buying any and all of the caviar available.

Breaking into the industry is no small feat. It takes anywhere from 8 to 12 years for a sturgeon to mature sufficiently to produce the prized eggs, so would-be caviar growers must spend a decade caring for the creatures before they have any chance at a profit, said Leo Ray, the owner of Fish Breeders of Idaho.

"Beluga sets the standard for all caviar, and white sturgeon comes in a class right below it," Ray said. "It's possibly the second-best in the world, and there is a chance that being farm-raised, we can raise that to the best."

Ultimately, Lemmon said, she'd like to see Idaho caviar become a brand sought after by average consumers as well as industry gourmets, much like the state's more-famous spuds.

"We joke a bit: Are we the only state that can do surf and turf? And pairing Idaho caviar on a boiled red potato is one way people like to serve it, or on homegrown Idaho wheat bread," Lemmon said.