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Paddlefish farmer sees gold in Missouri caviar
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By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
Associated Press Writer
OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (AP) - Jim Kahrs, 79, is on a mission.
After more than 50 years raising captive-bred catfish near Lake of the Ozarks, Kahrs foresees sky-is-the-limit potential in another bottom feeder indigenous to Midwestern rivers: the paddlefish.
Named for its distinctive protruding snout, the prehistoric river fish, also known as a spoonbill, is considered a delicacy in China and the Far East. Like its close relative, the shovelnose sturgeon, paddlefish are valued abroad for their black caviar eggs.
With a recently announced federal ban on imports of beluga sturgeon from Russia, Ukraine and other Caspian Sea countries _ the gold standard of caviar _ Kahrs anticipates an ever higher domestic demand that could catapult Missouri to the top.
"Missouri can become the primary source of caviar in the United States," he predicted.
Osage Catfisheries Inc. first cultivated paddlefish several decades ago, primarily for the aquarium trade, said Kahrs. Demand for the fish's eggs grew after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s led to overfishing and illegal poaching in the Caspian.
And though the paddlefish is now listed by the federal government as a species of "special concern," a designation that restricts its commercial availability, Kahrs' long history as a paddlefish rancher allows Osage Catfisheries to keep its own private stock.
The company possesses the only federal permit to sell paddlefish flesh, caviar and live eggs in this country or abroad.
Kahrs has stocked his paddlefish in more than 100 private lakes and ponds throughout the state and in eastern Kansas, including several high-end golf clubs and resorts such as The Country Club of Missouri in Columbia and Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach.
In recent months, he has enlisted fisheries scientists at the University of Missouri-Columbia to study whether the fish, which feed on microscopic animals called zooplankton, can exist in the same environment as bass, blue gill and other sport fish without adversely affecting those populations.
Should the tests produce favorable results, Missouri _ which has more than 500,000 private lakes and ponds, second in the country only to Texas _ could indeed rise to the rank of America's caviar capital, said Rob Hayward, an associate professor of fisheries management.
"It has some real potential for a lot of economic benefits," he said. "The demand is so high."
That doesn't mean connoisseurs aren't still clamoring for beluga caviar and other internationally produced sturgeon eggs, such as sevruga, said Michel Emery, sales director for Petrossian, a major New York caviar importer.
"Paddlefish is a very good product, but we really don't compare it to a Caspian Sea caviar," he said. "There's more demand than there used to be, but some clients will always go toward a caviar from a true sturgeon."
Of course, with the paddlefish's significantly lower costs _ Emery said he pays about $800 per kilogram for wholesale paddlefish caviar compared with $7,000 for a similar amount of Iranian beluga caviar _ Kahrs thinks there is plenty of room to grow.
"The market is there," he said. "It's just a matter of getting the people acquainted with the product."
Property owners who agree to stock Kahrs' paddlefish in their ponds assume little risk _ and no costs _ but require plenty of patience. The fish, which are about 6 to 8 inches long when they leave the hatchery, take seven to nine years to reach maturity and an eventual average weight of 60 to 80 pounds.
While Kahrs hopes to expand his paddlefish farms, commercial sturgeon fishermen in Missouri and other Mississippi River states face tighter regulations to limit the size and scope of catches.
Missouri residents must now pay $500 for a sturgeon fishing permit on the Missouri River, with a six-month limit. Wildlife officials in Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee are preparing similar restrictions.
Other states, including Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, ban sturgeon fishing completely _ making the prospect of farm-raised Missouri paddlefish even more appealing to property owners who otherwise pay little attention to ponds used for drainage or recreational fishing, aquaculture experts say.
"They don't have to be a full-fledged fish producer," said Bart Hawcroft, an aquaculture specialist with the Missouri Department of Agriculture. "It's not intrusive to their daily operations. There's not a whole lot of risk involved."
After more than 50 years raising captive-bred catfish near Lake of the Ozarks, Kahrs foresees sky-is-the-limit potential in another bottom feeder indigenous to Midwestern rivers: the paddlefish.
Named for its distinctive protruding snout, the prehistoric river fish, also known as a spoonbill, is considered a delicacy in China and the Far East. Like its close relative, the shovelnose sturgeon, paddlefish are valued abroad for their black caviar eggs.
With a recently announced federal ban on imports of beluga sturgeon from Russia, Ukraine and other Caspian Sea countries _ the gold standard of caviar _ Kahrs anticipates an ever higher domestic demand that could catapult Missouri to the top.
"Missouri can become the primary source of caviar in the United States," he predicted.
Osage Catfisheries Inc. first cultivated paddlefish several decades ago, primarily for the aquarium trade, said Kahrs. Demand for the fish's eggs grew after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s led to overfishing and illegal poaching in the Caspian.
And though the paddlefish is now listed by the federal government as a species of "special concern," a designation that restricts its commercial availability, Kahrs' long history as a paddlefish rancher allows Osage Catfisheries to keep its own private stock.
The company possesses the only federal permit to sell paddlefish flesh, caviar and live eggs in this country or abroad.
Kahrs has stocked his paddlefish in more than 100 private lakes and ponds throughout the state and in eastern Kansas, including several high-end golf clubs and resorts such as The Country Club of Missouri in Columbia and Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach.
In recent months, he has enlisted fisheries scientists at the University of Missouri-Columbia to study whether the fish, which feed on microscopic animals called zooplankton, can exist in the same environment as bass, blue gill and other sport fish without adversely affecting those populations.
Should the tests produce favorable results, Missouri _ which has more than 500,000 private lakes and ponds, second in the country only to Texas _ could indeed rise to the rank of America's caviar capital, said Rob Hayward, an associate professor of fisheries management.
"It has some real potential for a lot of economic benefits," he said. "The demand is so high."
That doesn't mean connoisseurs aren't still clamoring for beluga caviar and other internationally produced sturgeon eggs, such as sevruga, said Michel Emery, sales director for Petrossian, a major New York caviar importer.
"Paddlefish is a very good product, but we really don't compare it to a Caspian Sea caviar," he said. "There's more demand than there used to be, but some clients will always go toward a caviar from a true sturgeon."
Of course, with the paddlefish's significantly lower costs _ Emery said he pays about $800 per kilogram for wholesale paddlefish caviar compared with $7,000 for a similar amount of Iranian beluga caviar _ Kahrs thinks there is plenty of room to grow.
"The market is there," he said. "It's just a matter of getting the people acquainted with the product."
Property owners who agree to stock Kahrs' paddlefish in their ponds assume little risk _ and no costs _ but require plenty of patience. The fish, which are about 6 to 8 inches long when they leave the hatchery, take seven to nine years to reach maturity and an eventual average weight of 60 to 80 pounds.
While Kahrs hopes to expand his paddlefish farms, commercial sturgeon fishermen in Missouri and other Mississippi River states face tighter regulations to limit the size and scope of catches.
Missouri residents must now pay $500 for a sturgeon fishing permit on the Missouri River, with a six-month limit. Wildlife officials in Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee are preparing similar restrictions.
Other states, including Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, ban sturgeon fishing completely _ making the prospect of farm-raised Missouri paddlefish even more appealing to property owners who otherwise pay little attention to ponds used for drainage or recreational fishing, aquaculture experts say.
"They don't have to be a full-fledged fish producer," said Bart Hawcroft, an aquaculture specialist with the Missouri Department of Agriculture. "It's not intrusive to their daily operations. There's not a whole lot of risk involved."
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