Ep. 222: Paddlefish Wars and Caviar Dreams
Bear Grease
MeatEater
4.8 • 7.1K Ratings
🗓️ 12 June 2024
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Prepare to take an unexpected turn in this week's episode of Bear Grease as Clay Newcomb goes on a deep dive into the topic of Paddlefish caviar. This prehistoric creature is cherished as a game species but is also targeted by poachers to produce black-market caviar. Retired Oklahoma game wardens, Jeff Brown and Keith Green, tell the stories of starting the revolutionary Paddlefish Research Center and catching a poacher who turned into a legitimate caviar producer for the State. Additional interviews with caviar expert, Alan Morris, and Oklahoma Fish Biologist, Brandon Brown.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Let me do the math here. $4,800. |
| 0:05.0 | And yeah, an average size female that you caught be worth five grand. |
| 0:13.0 | Yep. |
| 0:14.0 | On Bear Greece, we've made a living telling the gritty stories of rural America. |
| 0:19.0 | Backwoodsman and long hunters, cowboys and Native American leaders, lawmen and outlaws. I hate to admit it, boys, but I've |
| 0:27.5 | completely turned the helm of the ship to something bizarrely off topic on this episode. |
| 0:34.0 | Caviar. |
| 0:35.6 | Salted fish eggs of certain species are some of the most expensive per ounce food |
| 0:40.6 | in the world. |
| 0:41.9 | They're a status symbol of wealth and luxury, but is that really why I'm |
| 0:46.5 | interested? Have I derailed us or could this be a story where rural America collides with the global caviar trade in a bizarre crime ring. |
| 0:56.5 | I guess you'll have to wait and see. But this story from the heartland of Oklahoma is full of giant fish, net poachers, undercover agents, and a region turned upside down |
| 1:06.7 | by black market caviar. |
| 1:09.5 | I really doubt that you're going to want to miss this one if you can even believe it at all. |
| 1:14.8 | All these wardens converged on them. |
| 1:16.8 | We had shotguns and it was... |
| 1:18.3 | Did you lead the chart you called the... |
| 1:20.5 | Yeah, oh yeah. |
| 1:21.5 | What did you say to him? State game w warden that's not what you want to hear in the not in the dark anytime is it's not with the batch of eggs. My name is Clay Newcombe and this is the Bear Grease Podcast, where we'll explore things forgotten but relevant. |
| 1:45.4 | Search for insight and unlikely places and where we'll tell the story of Americans who live |
| 1:51.7 | their lives close to the land. |
| 1:54.0 | Presented by FHF Gear, |
... |
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