The federal government has banned beluga caviar from the Black Sea basin just before the caviar-laden holiday season.

And that's got some Idaho caviar producers hoping their product can fill in the beluga gap on gourmet menus.

Leo Ray owns a white sturgeon farm near Hagerman. He says the ban comes just as his farm is preparing its first caviar harvest for market. Already, he's had calls from caviar distributors hoping to buy all the caviar he's got.

Linda Lemmon with the nearby Blind Canyon Aquaranch has had similar calls. She says the ban comes at just the right time for the burgeoning Idaho caviar market to step in.