After 15 Years, ODWC No Longer Funding Paddlefish Research By Selling Caviar

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation has decided to no longer fund its paddlefish research by selling caviar.

The program had operated for 15 years and gave anglers a free option to process the popular spoonbill. In exchange, the department sold the fish eggs to pay for research.

The ODWC said the Paddlefish Research Center was a huge success; biologists know more about the prehistoric fish than ever before. They will not stop researching the spoonbill, but they will put a new focus on other fish.

Just up the road from Grand Lake, the modest research center in Miami became the key to unlocking the world of paddlefish.

“It was somewhat experimental when we put it together 15 years ago and it took off beyond our wildest imagination,” Senior Fisheries Biologist Jason Schooley said.

Schooley said it’s arguable they have the most in-depth database on paddlefish in the world.

"It has really made Oklahoma essentially a spoonbilling capital of the United States, or the world,” Schooley said.

In 2019, News On 6 did a story about Yoji Nabeta, who flew here from Japan for the chance to snag a spoonbill.

Schooley said now, his focus will pivot to expanding research at other lakes.

"We're gonna look at these species that have been underappreciated, under researched, underfunded in the past and so hopefully we’re gonna start learning a lot about them,” Schooley said.

Another factor in the decision: the price of caviar has gone down, which impacted what ODWC made from the deal. Now that it won’t have the income from caviar, it is eligible for federal grants to help with research.

"We're gonna be able to do a lot more and spend a lot less and really have a higher output for the species we study but also for the anglers that come here,” Schooley said.

ODWC said the research building will stay open as a field office; it just won’t be a place for anglers to get their paddlefish processed anymore.