Caviar is being sold at $2,500 per kilogram

A production mobilization was declared in Amasya for the Mersin fish, which is sold at $2,500 per kilogram of caviar. The production quantity of this fish, which has been produced over 20,000 in the last two years and distributed to rivers in the Black Sea Region, reached 95,000 this year. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is numbering and tracking each fish it releases into natural habitats to increase their numbers.
Dating back 250 million years, the Mersin fish, also known as the ‘black pearl’ with caviar sold at $2,500 per kilogram, is cultivated in a special facility owned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Amasya, one of the Black Sea Region provinces where the production is carried out. This year, 95,000 juvenile fish produced at the Yedikır Aquaculture Production and Research Station are eagerly awaiting to meet the Black Sea and rivers in the region.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is also numbering and tracking these fish that have been found to cross Turkish territorial waters when released into the waters. Last year, a fish released from Samsun to the Black Sea was reported to be found in Bulgaria.
Caviar production can start from the 6th year of these fish. Amasya Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry, Gürol Çetin, stated that caviar production can be achieved from the Mersin fish, named after the resemblance of its eggs to the fruit of the myrtle tree, starting from the 6th year. Reminding that 21,500 Mersin fish produced in the last two years were distributed to cities including Samsun, Sinop, and Sakarya where the Black Sea meets the rivers, Gürol Çetin said, ‘We obtained 5,200 grams of eggs by milking 8 parent fish. As a result of the artificial insemination work, we obtained a total of 95,000 juvenile Mersin fish. We will distribute these as part of our ministry’s restocking project.’
“Amasya will be the number one in Mersin fish production”. Mentioning their plan to produce 2 kilograms of caviar this year to set an example from the caviar sold at $2,500 per kilogram, Çetin said, ‘There is no other place with such a regular and large-scale production like in our facility. We will make Amasya the number one in Mersin fish production’.