Unfortunately, this is also the case with many of Sweden's and the world's fish. Around 200,000 tonnes of fish are killed every year JUST in Swedish commercial fishing. This corresponds to several billions
fish individuals. These fish must not, like Hamlet, first think about whether to die or not. It just happens that way.

Contrast this with Sweden's leading delicacy fish farm - Arctic Roe of Scandinavia AB in Småland's Strömsnäsbruk. The world's most exclusive foods, sturgeon or Black Caviar, are produced here. The Småland niche company's business concept is to be sustainable, local and act with the best interests of the fishermen and consumers in mind. How is that possible?

Well, at Arctic Roe no fish are killed, but the black roe grains are carefully milked out of each individual fish once every two years. And then the fish live on in peace for a decade or more with caviar harvested every two years. Furthermore, the sturgeon females in Småland do not live in a river or in a lake outdoors, but indoors in large tanks on the 3rd floor of an old paper mill. This provides a different business model that is characterized by sustainability, overview, individual follow-up and a minimal footprint in the environment.

The method is labor intensive. Each female fish is tracked over time and fitted with a chip that is read with a reader the size of a traditional matchbox. An ultrasound device is then used, exactly the same sensor that is used in the maternity wards where our babies are born. The ultrasound scan shows how the roe in the fish gradually matures.

A couple of months before the harvest, or the milking, the female fish in question are re-placed in pools with cold water, 8 – 10 degrees. It is the same water temperature that prevails in nature in winter. The fish then become calm and think, they reduce their eating and live on their fat stores. This cleans the fish of excess fat, which makes it difficult to milk the caviar. Furthermore, the rum becomes more clean and flavorful after being in cold water for a period.

When the time comes, the temperature in the water rises, which causes the fish to become more active. It then makes it easier for the fish keepers to milk the rum grains without harming the fish.

Milking out the rum grains without wasting the fish's life requires a large investment of resources per individual fish. After a decade, the female fish has usually produced a total caviar harvest that corresponds to the weight of the female at the time of the first harvest. If the female is slaughtered, there is a harvest once and in total it is around 10% of the weight of the fish that becomes caviar.

Arctic Roe's sustainable business concept in a nutshell – To manufacture the world's most exclusive food in accordance with the world's most demanding regulations, the Swedish.

This is not a tragedy à la Shakespeare. Hamlet pondered whether or not he should die. At Arctic Roe, there is nothing to think about. Life always goes on.