Mahimahi Caviar: A New, Sustainable

With the breakup of the Soviet Union, sturgeon caviar has become largely unavailable.Shortages of caviar coupled with increasing prices have promoted the production of alternate"caviars" such as paddlefish, lumpfish, whitefish and salmon. Over-exploitation of the sourcefish for these alternate caviars has in many cases resulted in heavily depleted stocks since the fishmust be sacrificed to obtain the roe.Mahimahi are prolific, free spawning, game fish. Domesticated mahiamhi broodstock, keptunder ideal conditions, can be induced to spawn every other day, year round. Improved dietregimes can increase yields to hundreds of thousands of eggs per female per spawn. Dietmanipulation can also be used to manipulate egg characteristics. Mahimahi caviar is goldencolored with medium, firm berries, and a fresh, mild flavor.The proposed program is designed to improve mahimahi caviar marketability through broodstockdiet manipulation and roe processing. Buyers' preference for the roe will be ascertained.