CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. -- What was once a cattle pasture is now home to 30,000 Russian sturgeon.
- Marshallberg Caviar Farm broke ground in 2010
- It is the largest producer of Russian Osetra caviar in the country
- The farm's product is sold online and through small businesses
The fish are kept in Marshallberg Caviar Farm's 62,300 square foot facility making the farm the largest producer of Russian Osetra caviar in the nation.
In 2010, the farm broke ground at its Carteret County location and received its first fish in 2011. For the last seven years, the facility has waited for the sturgeon to mature and produce eggs. This year their eggs, also known as roe, are ready to be harvested.
Brian Reburn, senior mechanic at Marshallberg Caviar Farm, said raising the fish is a job that requires constant vigilance. The facility is maintained by four employees and hi-tech monitoring equipment that calls their home to tell them if oxygen levels in the tank are dangerous to the fish.
Over the past seven years, Reburn said he's spent the night in the facility numerous times during hurricanes to keep a watchful eye on the sturgeon and making sure they reach maturity to produce quality caviar.
“We know that we’ve worked hard for it. We’ve sweated, bled, and shed many tears and sleepless nights over this. So we hope that our end result is something satisfying to our potential customer base,” Reburn said.
Currently, the farm's product is sold online, in some small businesses and through one large distributor in New York.
The company has its permit to export and looks forward to expanding in the future.