Cornel Ceapa has dedicated the greater part of his life to studying and working with sturgeon. Acadian Sturgeon was founded in 2005 and is truly a family business. Cornel works closely with his wife Dorina and son Michael to manage all aspects of the business - from caring for the fish; harvesting, salting and mixing the eggs; smoking and packaging the sturgeon meat; and managing the daily operati
ons. It takes 10 years to grow sturgeon to the right size (usually six to eight feet long, with an average weight of 100 to 150 pounds) before the eggs are right for caviar processing. While Cornel and his family wait for their fish to mature, they rely on wild-caught Atlantic sturgeon – measuring up to 2-¾ metres long – for revenue and market development. The company catches up to 300 of the fish a year, measuring, tagging and releasing half of what they bring in. Both are packaged in-house, certified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and then couriered to online customers, distributors, retail outlets and restaurants from St. John's to Vancouver. Acadian Sturgeon also sells live sturgeon for aquaculture and restocking. The company ships fertilized eggs and larvae (recently hatched fish) for restocking in countries around Baltic Sea (Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia) or to to sturgeon farms in Europe, Asia and USA. Acadian is a strong believer of sustainable practices - selling their fish around the world to help re-populate areas that have lost most of their stock due to overfishing. Cornel and his family work hard, loving what they do and taking pride that they are able to build a very difficult, sustainable business using their knowledge and passion for sturgeon, as well as the support of the people around them. Acadian Sturgeon's strategy of developing a sturgeon aquaculture business using live sturgeon sales and sustainable harvest of wild sturgeon is truly one-of-a-kind in this world!
