SACRAMENTO, CALIF. – As chefs have started to demand sustainable seafood from their fish purveyors, Sterling can fill this requirement. As the pioneers in aqua-farming for the breed, they have been raising farmed sustainable White Sturgeon in California for over 35 years.
Capable of producing up to 300 metric tons of Sturgeon in a single calendar year, Sterling seeks to move upwards of 80,000 lbs of the fish per month to their partners. Sterling implemented the practice of raising the fish in optimal conditions in 1988. The team of biologists, farmers, and aquaculture specialists at Sterling maintain a deep and profound love for their fish long before it became in style to do so.
The Sturgeon, raised in exceedingly pure water that recirculates 24 hours per day using an ozonation process that removes detrimental microorganisms and degrades organic pollutants, are set up for a quality habitat at birth. Dissolved ozone is highly effective for nitrite reduction and algae control, thus promoting a very healthy aquatic environment and living condition for the fish. As part of their nutritious daily diet, the Sturgeon receive a proportionate balance of both land and sea-based ingredients. Healthy items such as peas and soybeans replace wild components thus generating a more sustainable food supply.
The farmers choose to replicate indigenous environmental factors of the California aquatic habitats for Sterling’s fish. The Acipenser Transmontanus is native to the area of the Sacramento River. Sterling does not believe in moving fish out of their natural environments and does not need to borrow fish from the wild. The harvested fish raised without any added hormones or antibiotics fill another consumer need, free of additives.
Indeed, this culture of care leads to the production of world-class caviar, which Sterling is known for, but the fish is of equitable Michelin quality. The value of the farmed Sturgeon’s life cycle should not only focus on the caviar but the whole fish.
Served at 3 Star Michelin restaurants, Sterling Sturgeon, known for its steak-like qualities can be prepared in a variety of ways. Scalloped, sautéed, broiled, grilled, baked, smoked and so much more. Sturgeon is a substitute for another steak like fish that may not be available year-round and or imported without traceability. It also can be used in place of Tuna, Halibut, Cod, etc. in a variety of recipes.
Sterling works with partners in all categories: frozen, value-added retail and fresh. Excited to expand this program alongside their sustainable caviar business, the California Sturgeon is what’s for dinner.
