The caviar -- priced at $55 an ounce -- is being sold under a joint label with gourmet food distributor Marky’s of Miami.

Mote has hatched, raised and harvested the black caviar since 2006 in its Aquaculture Park as part of its mission to develop sustainable fish farming technologies to relieve the pressure on wild fish stock, said Nadine Slimak, Mote’s director of communications.

This is caviar at a great price point, said Gidget Hidalgo, corporate sales manager for Markys. Most caviar prices between $10 and $200 an ounce.

Caviar is known as a rich mans food, but this is very affordable and we are hoping people will try it and become an every day consumer, she said.

Locals will have a chance to learn more about Mote caviar at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Whole Foods Market, 1451 First St., Sarasota. Jim Michaels, manager of Motes sturgeon commercial demonstration program, will be at the educational seminar to speak and answer questions, Slimak said.

Attendees also will be able to sample the product, along with eight other types of caviar carried by Whole Foods. A $5 fee will be charged.

We started our seminars last week at a Whole Foods in Orlando and it went incredibly well, Hidalgo said.

Proceeds from the caviar, which has been available in some stores for a few years, go to support Motes research and development efforts.

Mote has all the permitting in line to export caviar, Slimak said.

We are about half an inch away from doing so, she said.