In large concrete tanks on his Volusia County property, Gene Evans built one of the few commercial sturgeon-farming operations in the Western Hemisphere. Russian sturgeon — about the size of a porpoise — are native to the Caspian Sea, where it normally takes 20 to 30 years for the fish to produce top-shelf caviar and “white as snow” meat.
Evans believed he could reduce that to seven years in Florida’s warm waters, and launched a complex operation aimed at raising the fish from hatchlings. If successful, he stood to hold a near-monopoly on the production of top-quality caviar and prime sturgeon steaks in the United States.
Evans passed away in 2014, but the farm he built continues today, run by his family.
