Home grown black gold

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High quality caviar on ice at Caviar House & Prunier, Dubai.

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Peter Rebeiz, founder and CEO of Caviar House & Prunier.

Caviar has become a hallmark of excess and expense, and is constantly in demand. Caviar consistantly maintains its elite appeal, yet the annual catch continues to drop, putting pressure on supply. As a result of an unrelenting demand, poaching and depletion of fish stocks, companies are investing millions into more advanced methods of safeguarding a steady supply.

In the past two decades, caviar quotas have become heavily restricted. This is largely due to a sturgeon stock crash, from over-fishing and illegal harvesting, which has devastated the Caspian supply. In response, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates caviar quotas, increased restrictions on harvesting, which in turn led to an increase in illegal trade. CITES has continued to restrict quotas, including a trade embargo in 2006, when no legal trade was permitted.

In addition, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) classifies most of the 27 species of sturgeon still known today as endangered.

According to the WWF, a total annihilation of the sturgeon stocks in the Caspian Sea and the complete collapse of the caviar production will take place in the foreseeable future. This, coupled with consistent over-fishing and pollution, has inspired suppliers to investigate serious alternatives to safeguarding caviar stocks.

Enter aquaculture

Aquaculture technology is considered a highly attractive growth industry, as experts estimate that around one-third of all fish catches today are already covered by aquaculture products, with a similar forecast for growth over the next few years. Of particular interest for the Caspian region are aquaculture facilities that support sturgeon stock.

In the UAE, one such company, trading group Bin Salaam GTE, signed a deal with German aquaculture specialists, United Food Technologies (UFT), earlier this year to develop a facility in Abu Dhabi. The US $56 million project will see the construction of a modern fish farm covering an area of 61,000m², which will be exclusively stocked with sturgeon. According to Arabian investors, the first caviar is due to go to market in the second half of 2009. In the final phase, the plant will have an annual capacity of 32 tonnes of premium Ossetra quality caviar and will produce 693 tonnes of sturgeon meat per year.

The facility is the first in the region, according to a statement issued by UFT Chairman Christoph Hartung. Hartung believes that in view of the drastic restrictions on wild caviar, and the unceasing and high demand for quality caviar, that cultured caviar has very good marketing possibilities worldwide.

Staying power

World leaders Caviar House & Prunier are no strangers to caviar production. Caviar House & Prunier, which have been operating as a merged entity since 2004, choose, grade and import caviar from producers in the Caspian Sea as well as produce their own at farms in Bordeaux.

The current demand for caviar in the region has inspired a new range of products from Caviar House & Prunier, which are available in Dubai at outlets in the Madinat Jumeirah and Burjuman centre.

CEO and founder of Caviar House & Prunier, Peter Rebeiz, says that it always been a dream of his to produce caviar, and he is comforted by the fact that he has complete control over the product.

"Every aspect is tuned to quality and the complete experience; we only use the finest raw materials at every step of the way and the freshness, taste and texture of a Caviar House & Prunier product is incomparable."

Rebeiz says that although the UAE is trying to combat black market trade, consumers continue to be defrauded. "Consumers believe that they are getting an authentically obtained product but they cannot be sure," he says, adding that, "Caviar House & Prunier have exclusive products that are authenticated by CITES, and people in the UAE are starting to recognise this quality."

Brand power

In fact, in order to ensure that what they get is authentic, high quality caviar, consumers are increasingly turning to exclusive, branded caviar products.

According to executive chef of the Burj Al Arab, Luigi Gerosa, "The demand for caviar at the Burj Al Arab has remained fairly consistent as our guests are keen to experience the luxury of our exclusive Burj Al Arab branded products."

Supply and quality are tightly controlled at the Burj Al Arab, where caviar is bought only from authorized dealers in UAE and Europe.

"In UAE, we have four authorized dealers who purchase the caviar from Iran/Caspian and package it individually in the UAE. We have dedicated colleagues who ensure that only the highest quality products are received," Gerosa says.

While caviar supplies are still able to keep up with demand, experts forecast that supply difficulties will worsen over the next decade. Gerosa identifies, "We have been experiencing some challenges with Sevruga caviar from Europe in the last couple of months." Given this, local aquaculture may indeed be the future of regional caviar supply.

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