Breviro Caviar Inc, which is commercializing a rare caviar taken from the shortnose sturgeon, has secured a $500,000 venture capital investment from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, bringing its total equity raise to $2.5 million.

Fredericton-based NBIF, which backs startups and scientific research in the province, issued a statement this morning saying Breviro is the only company in the world to hold the necessary license under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to farm and sell roe from the shortnose sturgeon. This caviar is in high demand in global luxury markets because of its rare colour, taste and quality and can fetch a retail price as high as $4,500 per kilogram.

Based in Pennfield, about 50 kilometres west of Saint John, Breviro first gained attention when it won $50,000 in services and research funding at NBIF's R3 Innovation Challenge in March, after it had researched the fish and its roe for about a decade.

“After examining the innovation and growth potential of the company, we decided to invest,” said NBIF Chair Bob Hatheway in the statement.

Last year, Breviro began to sell caviar from the sturgeon indigenous to the Saint John River -- a species considered endangered in the wild not long ago. Today there is essentially no legal wild fishery for sturgeon in the traditional production region bordering the Caspian Sea, as sales of sturgeon and roe from that area have been banned by the U.S., the EU and many other jurisdictions.

Caviar production is difficult as each fish must be four to seven years old to produce roe. The company has proposed an aquaculture system and technique that would help the sturgeon to mature more quickly so they can produce caviar faster.

Breviro stresses on its website that it is dedicated to replenishing the stocks of shortnose sturgeon, and the regeneration of the species in captivity helps with the understanding of its habits and reproduction in the wild.

“This investment by NBIF will help the company to refine and expand our sustainable, on-land solution for farming the fish and harvesting the roe,” said Jonathan Barry, CEO of Breviro.

He added the total investment of $2.5 million will be used to turn Breviro into a global brand. The company is already selling the product and benefited this year from an early spring, which moved its production ahead by about a month. That meant it was able to have fresh product when it attended the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels in April.

The company is beginning with a healthy level of investment capital, as Atlantic Canadian companies generally are doing well if they attract six figures in seed funding and then work on a $2 million-plus venture capital round. After a decade researching the product, Breviro has essentially skipped the seed round and is already into its A Round, which should help with the international marketing of the product.