How to Run a $10 Million Caviar Farm | WSJ Operating Costs
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 พ.ค. 2024
- Marshallberg Farm in Smyrna, N.C., produces Osetra caviar. It cost them $10 million to build out and stock this facility to keep their fish living in indoor tanks, and their annual operating cost for necessities like feed, water and oxygen is about $500,000.
WSJ visited the sustainable farm to see how they raise 20,000 sturgeon until they are harvested for caviar production, which can take up to 10 years.
0:00 How much caviar can a single Osetra sturgeon produce?
0:45 How the farm keeps around 20,000 sturgeon alive
2:05 Why the fish are sorted by gender
2:55 How to tell which fish will produce caviar
4:58 How the sturgeons’ roe are harvested for caviar
6:41 Marshallberg Farm’s learning curve for producing Osetra caviar
#Caviar #Sturgeon #WSJ
I actually worked for the founder and live right down the road. The founder was an asian engineer who designed a life saving mine and ied detection system for bradley tanks in the middle east. He was older so I'm sure he's retired/passed on at this point. I wanna say he was a professor at NC state before the DOJ bought his design. He used that money to fund the construction of the first warehouse. Saw some cool fights between the engineer and a lot of the sub contractors. He had the math and the subs had the experience so it was pretty legendary. The white dude in the video is his son in law. The asian girl looks like his wife and the founder's daughter but its been so long i cant be sure. He comes in the local hardware store a lot more. It's also locally Smur-na not Smeer-nah. They also have (or had) another facility in the Mountains on the western side of the state. Never thought I'd see anything from this area on here. Kind of a touristy, formerly rural, beach, fishing town where not a lot goes on. WSJ you can also check out the local oyster farms for more aquaculture fun.
What if a male fish identify's as female ???
From Mhc and she butchered the town names
Thanks for the infos 🙏🏼
I've seen this same comment all over YT so bullish
This man is farming what otherwise would be unsustainablely taken from the Caspian Sea. No different from a steak, leatherbelt or handbag. We need to thank him and his investors (?) for putting up their labor and calital. Well done Sir!! I hope you will be mega succesful.
We have these fish in a Wisconsin lake.
@@DarkNStormyDaniels The
@@don_kandon6006 You we’re fortunate to have a good childhood and an experience most people never have! Good for you
@@don_kandon6006 I could imagine. It’s odd you answered me back because I’m a big history buff & I do know my Soviet history but not as much as I should & certainly not as much as someone who’s lived there/living there. I couldn’t imagine what your parents had to go through? I don’t know how old you are? I’m 51 & a Cold War baby completely brainwashed by Western propaganda growing up in the 80s in the United States! I graduated high school in 1990 so I’m lucky there was still goi music to listen to. But I wanted to ask you a few questions; if you don’t mind?
Upon further consideration, I have come to understand the reason behind the exorbitant cost of caviar.
Farm fishing is the way to go for all fish we use as food. It not susceptible to erratic weather, viruses, algae bloom kills, etc. Great story.
Thank you WSJ for highlighting this unique and innovative aquaculture operation in eastern North Carolina!
I work for a sturgeon hatchery… you have to wait til they grow a certain age because they aren’t mature enough to have a gender. Also they said it takes 6 years to mature. It takes 12 years and over 20 years to hatch eggs. That’s for lake sturgeon idk if theirs are different. Now that’s natural type conditions, meaning in winter time they grow slower because the water gets colder but if they have a temperature set to let’s say 16degrees than they grow faster. Also they said they’re hatch floated. Maybe one of their machines broke that controls water quality and the fish died from having too much ammonia, or no more oxygen or whatever. A lot can happen if you don’t have alarms to tell you a machine isn’t working. Also what I don’t understand is why do they gotta kill them after they get the caviar, our scientists from my understanding stitch them back up and release them.
The calmness of the sturgeon during the ultrasound and biopsy is remarkable. I've handled my share of fish and haven't seen that before; farmed fish may be more docile?
@Tristan This is actually referred to as tonic immobility. Many species of whale/shark/fish display this when they are turned upside down. Basically puts them into an immobile state where these farmers can freely handle them.
@@MegaWarrior8 that's amazing. They keep breathing, though? Does that happen in real life contexts, where these get turned upside down and struggle with that?
@Tristan a dog when you give them belly rubs..
@Tristan Kinda like how u can put chickens or pheasant to sleep. Same thing.
if you're raising sturgeon for years and they're dead overnight thats literally a nightmare. no wonder caviar is so expensive.
I'm a literal member of the "working poor", and I still have tasted good cavia..(many years ago)...I must say, it's truly delicious. Hope I get to try some again someday....
Hope for better things instead...
As a caviar fanatic, I recommend you to taste Caviar from a small village in China called QuZhou. That is where many Michellin chef secretly buys their caviar from. Apparently the natural spring water makes the best caviar. I’ve got the opportunity to get my hand on some and its mind blowing how buttery and creamy the caviar was like no others I have ever tasted. What surprise me most is how TF these chef know about this hidden village that even most Chinese do not know how to point it out on a map
The fish look so cute I would love to work there just to see the fish everyday!!!
It'd be interesting to see if someone could figure out a way to surgically remove the roe and allow the fish to survive and reproduce again.
They can get it out without killing them fairly easily.
They just don’t because sturgeon only lay eggs once. They ceebs paying to keep them alive after that.
Well at least now I know caviar actually is worth its price
It’s not lol
@@lingling1865 that’s what I heard too, that it’s kinda just a status symbol. I’ve read it’s good but not 60-120$ good. I’d like to try it once for myself but only as a freeloader at a fancy party.
Whether or not caviar is worth its price is a decision that depends on individual tastes and priorities. In my opinion its not
@@TheKonvo I'm not talking about taste here. The amount of work going into each tin is what makes it expensive as well as the amount produced (due to the yield of each season).
Personally I like Japanese fish roe more as it has a sweeter taste.
Not
I worked at an exclusive corporate grocery in wealthy area … we used to stock these Beluga caviars costing in terms of inflation now $800…. tried it and spit it out LOL had no idea what I was doing … also dumped a $100 maple syrup on waffle… threw it away too sweet
Watching this video reminds when I worked in 2 5 star 5 diamond hotels here in NYC. Beluga and 2 other caviar are not cheap, but it's basically fish eggs,but you can find cheaper ones like salmon and black fish and I don't care for it to each there own
I love this! Love the whole process. I have never had caviar. Actually, I don’t eat anything that feeds off the ocean and I live on the beach LBI. 🤦♀️I know! Maybe to much saltwater intake as a kid. 🤷♀️lol best wishes on a great season!
You gotta have fish man it’s delicious
Didn't know they have to kill the fish after a single harvest, I was under impression they'll simply milk them.
Which if one fish is worth $4,000 but it only yields $5,600 worth of caviar in a 12 year span… doesn’t seem worth it
@@pedrodepacas they doubled the production in a year, and went from 5k baby fish to 20k adult fish in the span of 12 years, it seems fairly profitable
Interesting to see what I would never buy even if I was rich
Wow!..a nature piece..I love it..
The most amazing thing is the fact that this stuff doesn't even taste good enough to justify the cost, same deal with truffles
Poor person mentality.
@@caesarskiba9008 Emperor's new clothes mentality
Said the peasant.
That's not how expensive things work, the price is not about the taste, it's about accessibility.
Low point black caviar is worth the price if you enjoy it
😂😂😂this commercial was at the tail end of SNL....still laughing 😂
Alexis : If the champagne is too burned for your taste, don't drink it. The caviar I trust is not burned.
Dominique Deveraux : I really wouldn't know. You see that is Ostatrova and I prefer Petrossian Beluga.
Hey, nice piece and the farm is in the comments! Hi guys, look great. 👋
Imagine if aliens invaded earth and found out that human embryos were delicious. Well.. our women will all be in tanks like those fish.
😂😂😂😂😂
At least they'll live unlike all the males that go into meat processing facilities after mating. Turns out, they don't even need males for that if they are technologically advanced and woke like us.
Democrats did
Linda demais 💓Deus abençoe 🙏🏻🙏🏻
And here I am.... Watching my my grocery list more than ever.
I wanted to ask, how come the roe isn't harvested after the sturgeon ejects the eggs? Wouldn't the roe be bigger by then? Is it a taste difference?
I mean that way wouldn't the sturgeon be alive for multiple egg harvests?
By the time they expel the roe, the eggs are no longer good for caviar - there's a specific window, unfortunately.
Success!
Cool!
I'm not a caviar consumer, I've only had small amounts on sushi, but this video was very interesting. It had a good "How it's Made" vibe.
That’s not caviar on sushi, it’s flying fish roe. Very different
@@liamwindsor5854 If I said "I'm not a caviar consumer but I have stayed in a Holiday Inn express" that would be "Very different". But I would argue that sturgeon roe and flying fish roe have more similarities than differences. But at least I learned that true caviar is only from sturgeon.
That’s a good setup 👍 profesional 💎
It's amazing how there's droughted lakes and areas, yet pools of water everywhere...
We need to protect this amazing fish that's been around since the dinosaurs just hurting our ecosystem even more than we already r
what do they do with sturgeon meat? never seen it sold at any store or restaurant but they are killing so many just for the eggs?
It's really cool that a rep from the farm featured took the time to thoughtfully respond to some of the comments.
Theres a sturgeon/black caviar farm in Israel at the Dan Kibbutz.
It's been operating for years, and IIRC is the first sturgeon farm in the world, operating since 1992.
Now if only they can figure out how to extract the row without killing the fish, 12 years is a long time to wait.
Proof having more money than sense is definitely a thing😂
You know flying fish roe is good enough for me. And way cheeper lol
So can i buy into the businrss and they raise the fish for me?
I’m glad they farm it I thought they were killing off wild sturgeons
Interesting
Quite interesting!
Fish jumped out at 2:33 😂
Skode! Is all the equipment hurricane ready?
Do the fish get a choice in Gender in the 5th year ??
Caviar 🤤
3:04 Don Corlone has branched into the fishing business. Luca Brassi would approve
Farmin!!
Are these guys ever able to take a vacation?
Is it really delicious?
It's a shame that they need to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Why do they kill the fish when they harvest?
What if we don't eat caviar at all..
I've eaten both cheap and expensive caviar. It's taste is not exactly good! But I suppose it's a matter of personal taste.
This video is missing a lot of key points, this product os very niche and expensive to start. The founder must've had prior experience
What do they do with the flesh of the fish after the eggs are harvested? Can you eat it? 🤔
I expect so as they said they use to males to make cheaper meat, so presumably the older females too?
Wow, best way to torch your money
It’s strange that the fish themselves are the after product.
This made me SO hungry...
Louisa Victoria 👍🏻💎🤝🇪🇸
I wonder if the metal tweezers effect taste?
Looks like Novak Djokovic has a side hustle on his days off
2:23 Wait.. say that again for our younger viewers?
Omg I'm really shocked.
damnit I was hoping it'd be dirt simple.
Fix your subtitles, it's not "row", it's "roe"
So u shouldnt use metal spoons to get the caviar out but its stored in metal containers? 🤔🤔🤔
Rafael García Hernández
There’s no kill farms now
1:23 you guys remember that one tall white guy from MadTV?
Michael McDonald
Lets see Paul Allen's caviar farm
2:32 didn't know sturgeon could jump like that
I’m hungry now
caviar is so expensive and can be grown in the USA
@2:35 any one else see the one jump out of water lol
Yeah, this has to be a fairly new farm? No older than 23 yrs otherwise it would have been on “Dirty Jobs.” (I would think 💭)
So what do they do with the dead fish?
Probably sell it to Nortons, which in turn makes it into fish fillet that you buy. Nothing is wasted.
Wait until aliens from deep space do this to humans
What make you think we are not doing it already 😉
Does this hurt the fish?
Nah they’re fine.
I've observed that any caviar that I can afford to buy...isn't worth eating. Any that which is worth eating...I can't afford.
The same can be said of champagne.
i doubt if these guys can even break even!
Sick🤬
I can see why its expensive as it is not automated at all.
Can you do DNA sampling to get the sex? I know DNA sampling has gotten very cheap these days
Hold on hold on!what do you mean by MALE AND FEMALE! 😅😂
So a big fancy aquarium. Almost like an expensive hobby
The difference between a hobby and a job is that the job makes money...
@@Dayvit78 no I know it’s a business. I just mean for these guys I bet it’s an entertaining job to do
Why are ther killed
That water waste could revitalize soils on farms instantly.
Doesn't matter how much you charge for it, it's still just a bunch of fat and salt.
Why would they not use DNA sampling to tell the gender of the fish? The comment about having to wait 5 years to be able to determine male/female seems odd.
DNA sampling? Another 5000$ in costs per fish.
I work for a sturgeon hatchery… you have to wait til they grow a certain age because they aren’t mature enough to have a gender. Also they said it takes 6 years to mature. It takes 12 years and over 20 years to hatch eggs. That’s for lake sturgeon idk if theirs are different. Now that’s natural type conditions, meaning in winter time they grow slower because the water gets colder but if they have a temperature set to let’s say 16degrees than they grow faster. Also they said they’re hatch floated. Maybe one of their machines broke that controls water quality and the fish died from having too much ammonia, or no more oxygen or whatever. A lot can happen if you don’t have alarms to tell you a machine isn’t working. Also what I don’t understand is why do they gotta kill them after they get the caviar, our scientists from my understanding stitch them back up and release them.
@@JesseJayScott interesting, thanks for sharing!
Health benefits from caviar?
THIS world system is nearly over.
The KINGDOM of GOD is at hand!
St John 3:16! 🙏🏼🙌🏼✝️
HALLELUJAH! ❤️
Not saying it’s easy but in the end it’s a 512% profit these farms are making per fish a year
labor cost electric tax logistic rent.. is not 500 percent
Rich peoples chicken 🤑
Good to c his hard 😂work that makes d eggs 😮worthwhile 😅
The fact that the producers also get to determine the grade is suss af... what's to stop them from just "creating" a new ultra high premium grade thats actually just all the rejects and pricing it at 350/ounce?
People who know what is what will open the can eventually expecting ultra high grade gear and get trash. Then they will either sue or tell their mates who will never buy a can and eventually word will go around that the gear is all trash and no one will touch that caviar. Then it's an expensive process of rebranding and getting independent verification until the reputation is back.
@@kaymish6178 that's the thing for me though, why isn't there just independent grading in the first place?
my family business also requires grading the products we produce, the thing is we prelist the grade we think our delivery for that week then we deliver it then to our
buyer and they check if it really is that grade. they can approve the grade or give it a below grade but we can dispute it though. it really is a matter of trust between the supplier and buyer
@@JoshuaJones-eg2sc If the consumer isn't happy, we can't survive. We grade very strictly because our existence depends on it.
@@tuskcreekbeef Glad to hear it.
1.2m views, 200 comments
seemed expensive till i saw the oz price. thats like decent weed prices
There is no reason to kill your sturgeon. There is a no kill method, please reassess your methods…
Wow this woman gets paid to taste caviar up to 60 times a day, if that was purchased caviar, how humch would that cost? Lol