Yana Karnaukhova: Maria, share with us the story of your family’s connection with the Astrakhan region and its influence on the creation of BelugaFarm?

Maria Smutnya: The Astrakhan fish farming company Beluga, which today you know by the trade name BelugaFarm, was founded in 1996 by my father, Evgeny Aptekar. We can say that it was fate, because my whole family has always sincerely loved their small homeland and worked for the benefit of the Astrakhan region. My grandfather Efim Aptekar worked his way up from a mechanic to the head of the Sevkasprybvod, the department for the reproduction of fish stocks of the Caspian Sea. His brother Semyon Aptekar headed the Astrakhan Shipbuilding Plant and made a great contribution to the development of the region. These are the people who guided and inspired my father. The fragile nature of Astrakhan and the Volga Delta, its special beauty – we have learned to understand and respect it thanks to our ancestors.

YK: How did your father Yevgeny Aptekar influence you?

MS: My father is the best example for me. He always taught us to live by the principle of  “treat people the way you would like them to treat you.” It seems to me that this has become the foundation for me, the foundation of my attitude to my family, to my favorite business, to our wonderful team, and to life in general.

YK: What were the key moments or events that led to the creation of BelugaFarm?

MS: First of all, BelugaFarm appeared as a charity project, and only after a while it became a caviar manufacturing company. The beginning of the 90s was a crisis moment for the oldest population of sturgeon fish. Due to poaching and natural factors, these amazing creatures were on the verge of extinction. The founders of BelugaFarm, together with scientists, tried to “domesticate” sturgeon fish in order to preserve the species and be able to procreate.

YK: Can you share any interesting experiences that you encountered during the creation of the farm?

MS: The path that the BelugaFarm team has traveled is an amazing experience. My father told me that the company had become a pioneer in the domestication of sturgeons. That is, no one at that time was engaged in the cultivation of sturgeon fish in cages and did not understand what kind of cages should be, what size, what depth. How to properly feed sturgeons and how to reproduce such conditions for them so that the fish not only survives, but also retains its reproductive abilities. The experiment turned out to be successful: fish caught in the wild environment of the Caspian Sea took root in cages and to this day forms the basis of our breeding stock.

YK: How has this experience shaped your approach to sturgeon breeding, your commitment and concern for the natural resources of your native land? What lessons or values have you learned?

MS: The history of BelugaFarm has predetermined our special attitude to our business. First of all, it is a careful approach, understanding of the processes of nature, openness and transparency, respect for the people who choose our products. This has become our philosophy. To help the ecosystem of the Astrakhan Region and preserve the population of sturgeon fish, we release juveniles grown on our farm into the natural environment every year. This charitable initiative is our contribution, another opportunity to remind everyone that nature is not an inexhaustible resource.

YK: Where is the farm for breeding Caspian beluga, Russian sturgeon, sterlet and thorn in the Astrakhan region currently located? How does the pristine nature and cleanliness of the region contribute to the growth and development of sturgeon fish species and are there any specific characteristics or location features of the farm that distinguish it from other sturgeon farms?

MS: Our sturgeon farm is located in the Astrakhan region, in the lower reaches of the Volga River. These places are unique for their purity and the fact that historically sturgeon species of fish lived here. On the farm, we tried to recreate the conditions for keeping fish as close as possible to natural ones: these are deep cages and running water saturated with oxygen. Sturgeons feed on natural food – Caspian sprat and herring. The area of the farm is more than two hectares, and it can rightfully be considered indicative not only in Russia, but also in the world.

YK: Please, tell us about BelugaFarm’s efforts to promote sustainable aquaculture practices?

MS: Today we are proud to say that BelugaFarm is one of the largest companies supporting the experience of sturgeon aquaculture. Farms from different countries created their herds on the basis of fertilized eggs obtained in our farm. Every year we continue these deliveries so that other enterprises have the opportunity to receive caviar from the offspring of Caspian producers, because it is the Caspian sturgeon fish that are recognized as the best in their taste qualities.

YK: What other delicacies besides caviar does BelugaFarm offer and how are they produced?

MS: In our workshop, we produce native Astrakhan delicacies such as hot and cold smoked sturgeon fish, pates, sausages, canned food, balaks, as well as freshly frozen products. BelugaFarm has its own quality control laboratory: each batch is repeatedly checked by technologists and microbiologists.
We would also like to tell you about the particularly valuable, healthy and incredibly delicious types of caviar produced by our company: these are beluga caviar and sturgeon caviar, cooked with pure salt without additives and preservatives.
When building production processes, we adhere to the Zero Waste principle, which is why we have additional local products in our line, for example, viziga (cartilaginous tissues of sturgeon) or soup sets for Astrakhan soup.

YK: Finally, in almost 30 years, BelugaFarm has come a long way and has become a powerful enterprise, what is your vision for the company’s future and how do you plan to continue delivering exceptional products to your customers?

MS: Our goal is to work with the end user. That is why we strive to talk more about ourselves, about how BelugaFarm products are created, and why it is important to buy a legal, high-quality product from a trusted manufacturer.
Another of our tasks is to draw attention to the Astrakhan region and share its history. Recently, we launched a special project – a porcelain collection created jointly with the Imperial Porcelain Factory and the artist Zinaida Yusova. All the objects are decorated with a drawing that tells about the beauty of the nature of the Astrakhan region.