Mass Media Overview
Sturgeon from south to north and black caviar in space
26.07.2017 16:34
http://tass.com/
July 19, 2017
The biggest value of aquaculture is that it fills the market with the species, which for many years had been considered rare and exquisite delicacies. This is true first of all regarding sturgeon, which in the past was practically unavailable for the public.
Russia's biggest producer of black caviar Diana, working in the Vologda (north-west of Central Russia) region's Kadui, supplies the product even to the space. Three-four times a year its caviar is bought for cosmonauts at the International Space Station, the company's Director General Mikhail Novikov told TASS.
"Our company is developing for 40 years, and the main product is black caviar," he said. "We produce about 23 tonnes a year. Supplies are to areas across Russia. As for foreign supplies - it is easier to say to which countries we do not supply caviar - to the European Union, as now they have announced a 100% moratorium on Russian supplies due to the missing regulations of aquaculture."
"The company's business is profitable, we practically do not have subsidies, but for those offered to the entire agricultural sector," he added.
Sturgeon production features 20 farms in the Astrakhan region (the Volga River - Caspian Sea confluence). They produce 450 tonnes a year. A biggest fishery company in the region, Aquatrade, told TASS the business is profitable, though having certain risks. "There are certain risks, including temporary ones, and besides - the competition… The business is profitable, but the investments are long-term, there is not quick money here, profits begin from 10-12 years," the company said.
Aquatrade breeds nine species of sturgeon, including in round-shaped ponds, which is new for Russia. In Astrakhan, aquaculture is the only way to produce sturgeon. Any fishing in the Caspian Sea is outlawed now. On the contrary, the companies working in Astrakhan every year release fries into the sea to restore the population.