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The Yomiuri Shimbun Golden caviar from albino sturgeons
By Takehiro Kawaguchi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
7:00 JST, February 17, 2025
NAKATSUGAWA, Gifu — A man engaged in the farming and breeding of sturgeons in the mountains in Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, succeeded in producing golden caviar from albino sturgeon eggs. He now hopes to introduce the special caviar to overseas markets.
Albino sturgeons lack a melanin pigment due to a genetic mutation, giving them a white appearance and their eggs a golden hue. Typically, sturgeons are black.
While regular sturgeons can reach about 1.8 meters in length and around 50 kilograms in weight in about 10 years, albino sturgeons only reach about 1 meter in length.
Although it’s harder to maintain the health of albino sturgeons, Shinya Oyama, 43, succeeded in producing the special caviar after much trial and error.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Shinya Oyama watches over albino sturgeons swimming in a tank in Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, on Feb. 3.
Oyama’s main business is civil engineering and construction, but he decided to start fish farming, too. He said he had been familiar with fish as he helped his father to breed ornamental nishikigoi carp as a hobby.
Oyama started full-scale farming of regular sturgeons as part of the construction company’s expanded operations more than 10 years ago. He now raises about 4,000 sturgeons.
To provide the sturgeons with a more natural environment, Oyama breeds them in a large pond in a fallow rice field where nishikigoi carp used to be kept. He tries to preserve the unique flavor and maintain the freshness of the caviar, which is made by pickling sturgeon eggs in salt, by rapidly freezing them in a special freezer.
“The caviar is very rich and creamy. It has a hint of sweetness, too,” Oyama said. The caviar is supplied to high-class restaurants and well-known chefs. They also are available as gifts to those who donate to the city through the furusato nozei hometown tax donation system.
While enjoying the popularity of his caviar, Oyama began trying to produce golden caviar.
Golden eggs can be produced by breeding albino sturgeons. But Oyama said that is not easy, since it is hard to keep them healthy. “I tried many ways to raise them without stressing them,” he added.
Oyama started full-scale farming of albino sturgeons in 2018, but he said he initially was unable to raise juvenile albino sturgeons, although he was able to hatch them.
He pays utmost care during the breeding and rearing process, for instance by keeping the fish in a tank separate from ordinary black sturgeons. In January 2024, Oyama succeeded in harvesting the long-awaited golden eggs. The production of golden caviar was then confirmed by the prefectural fisheries research institute in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture.
With many albino sturgeons now swimming vigorously in one of his tanks, Oyama said, “I feel all the hard work has paid off.”
According to Oyama, although the golden eggs are smaller than regular black ones, they have a subtle sweetness.
With domestic demand for caviar decreasing due to rising prices, Oyama is looking to wealthy people around the world. He plans to join a trade exhibition in Las Vegas in late March and Singapore in summer. He is also going to participate in a trade show in Dubai next year.
“I want to introduce the golden caviar to overseas markets and make it known as a product of Nakatsugawa,” Oyama said.
