From the Oklahoman here.

State wildlife officials said the first year of making caviar from Oklahoma paddlefish eggs was a big success. Now they plan to build a permanent processing center on Grand Lake.

In the spring, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation set up a temporary fish cleaning and processing station for paddlefish at Twin Bridges State Park on Grand Lake.

Anglers who snagged paddlefish during the spring spawning runs could have their fish cleaned for free by state wildlife officials. In return, officials removed the eggs from female paddlefish and processed the eggs into caviar.

The state Wildlife Department made 8,000 pounds of caviar this spring. which was sold to three wholesalers for slightly more than $1.5 million, said Melinda Sturgess-Streich, assistant director of administration.

State wildlife officials initially predicted it would take two to three years to make a profit on the sales. But the money earned this year was more than enough to cover the initial $602,000 start-up costs of the program.

"We hit a home run,” said Jeff Boxrucker, assistant chief of fisheries for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

"We were anticipating a middle of the road price and a middle of the road paddlefish run. We got top dollar and an excellent run.”

The state Wildlife Department used part of the profits to hire two additional paddlefish biologists. A new processing center will be built in two years, Boxrucker said.