Atlantic salmon are prized as a farm fish by growers because they grow to harvest size quickly and by cooks and chefs for their firm flesh and mild flavour.
Vancouver-based Albion Fisheries is developing a local market for closed containment Atlantic salmon, putting samples grown in research facilities in West Virginia into the hands of chefs.
The closed containment product has a milder flavour than ocean-raised salmon which really suits the North American palate, said Albion vice-president Guy Dean. Some of the chefs really liked the higher fat content and thought it tasted more buttery.
In consumer taste tests, 80 per cent chose the closed containment product over the net-pen product, he said.
Market research also shows some people won’t buy farmed fish because of the problems with net-pen farms, said Eric Hobson, a board member of the ‘Namgis closed containment salmon farm.
A farmed fish that ticks all the boxes for sustainability could well find a market among environmentally conscious shoppers, said Mike McDermid, a manager at Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise conservation program.
Land-based aquaculture mitigates escapes, controls effluents and solid waste and you don’t have any disease getting out into the wild, if it’s a true recirculating system, he said. The elephant in the room is still feed. You don’t want to damage wild fisheries in order to feed so-called sustainable aquaculture.
Living Ocean Society is working with feed suppliers as part of the ‘Namgis project to ensure the farmed fish will be fed a sustainable diet.
Conservation groups and eco-certification programs are putting pressure on consumers and retailers to make sustainable seafood choices.
Nearly all of North America’s major grocery store chains, from B.C.-based Overwaitea to multinational retailer Walmart, have committed to a timetable for eliminating unsustainable seafoods from their shelves, many over the next three or four years.
Retailers are clamouring for sustainable product, because they’ve made these commitments and there are very limited quantities available on the market, said Garry Ullstrom, senior financial officer of the ‘Namgis partnership that is building a closed containment Atlantic salmon farm on Vancouver Island.
Canada’s SeaChoice sustainable seafood program is working with Overwaitea/Save-on, Safeway and Whole Foods to introduce sustainable seafood buying policies.
In June, Overwaitea Food Group dropped net-pen farmed salmon from its stores, replacing it with coho raised in closed containment by SweetSpring Salmon in Washington State. SweetSpring is rated super-green by Seafood Watch and a Best Choice by SeaChoice.
A handful of coho and sockeye products raised in land-based closed containment farms have already received Vancouver Aquarium Ocean Wise certification. Atlantic salmon grown in net-pens the entire commercial supply is on the not recommended list.
The Vancouver Sun