And now, after 18 years, their idea of raising sturgeon in the United States to produce fine caviar is finally a reality.
There are a few sturgeon farms in California, where fish farmers are producing true caviar.
They were also successful in the caviar trade becoming the first company that produced caviar in Russia.
For centuries, the Black Sea produced dolphin skins and caviar and fish so plentiful that no one thought such bounty could ever end.
But does all this technology produce great caviar?
The worms are fed to roe fish, which produce caviar, which is sold back to the restaurants.
It matures in seven years but produces precious little caviar, an average of a little over 11 pounds per fish.
At the beginning of the 19th century, these fish were used extensively to produce caviar, but have been a protected species in Europe since 1982.
Sturgeon, the fish that produce black caviar, are severely depleted or threatened with extinction almost everywhere in the world, researchers are reporting today.
Italy has begun to produce farmed caviar and is now one of the largest producers in the world.