The event was coordinated by the Consulate General of Canada in Boston together with MIC and the Lobster Council of Canada to showcase Canadian mussels and lobster.

Chef Alain Bossé, The Kilted Chef, and Chef Jose Duarté, executive chef and owner of Taranta led an informative and entertaining demonstration while students helped prepare and serve samples.

The chefs shared their photos and experiences of visiting a mussel farm in Prince Edward Island. They gave praise for the sustainability and quality of the Canadian-farmed mussels with special mention of the consistency in their plumpness and size, sweetness and texture.

Not only do mussels contain ultra-healthy levels of protein, iron, antioxidants, zinc, vitamin C and selenium – they are so easy to prepare.

The Canadian Seafood Survey found that people aren’t eating enough seafood – in particular, Canadians consume shellfish less often than finfish, with 24% saying they never eat it.

I took some photos of the creative mussel dishes served which I’ve shared below – along with the recipes as created by Chef Bossé. I hope they inspire you to experiment with this nutritious protein.

 Citrus Honey Canadian Farmed Mussel Salad

Mussels

• 1-2 lbs Fresh Canadian farmed mussels
• 1⁄4 cup Yellow peppers diced
• 1⁄4 cup Red peppers diced
• 1⁄4 cup Red onions diced
• 2 oz Arugula
• A few sliced smoked almonds
• ½ oz Crumbled goat Cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Citrus Honey Vinaigrette

• ½ Shallot, chopped finely
• ½ cup Honey
• ½ cup Freshly squeezed lemon zest
• Juice and zest of ¼ of a lime
• ½ cup Vegetable or canola oil
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Chopped Italian parsley or chives to taste

Put mussels in a small pot. Add wine, green onions and garlic. Cover and steam for about 3 to 5 minutes on high heat until mussels open Let cool and remove the mussels from the shells.

Vinaigrette: In a bowl mix mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. Add honey, lemon juice, shallots and oil and whisk until it emulsifies. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. (For best results prepare vinaigrette the day before.) Toss the mussels with the arugula, peppers and onions and dress with the vinaigrette, top with goat cheese and sliced almonds, garnish with chopped chives and lemon zest.

Thai Sweet Chili Canadian Farmed Mussels 

• 2 lbs Fresh Canadian farmed mussels
• 2 oz White wine
• 1 tsp Finely chopped red onion
• ¼ Lime
• 3 tbsp Sweet chili sauce
• 2 tbsp Fresh chopped cilantro

Place mussels in a sauté pan. Add the white wine, red onion, sweet chile sauce and cilantro. Squeeze the juice from the lime into the mixture and drop it on top. Cover pan and allow to steam until the mussels start to open. Stir occasionally to ensure the chili sauce coats all of the mussels. Serve in a large bowl with your favourite bread for dipping.

Atlantic Canada Lobster and Mussel Bruschetta

• ½ lbs Fresh Canadian-farmed mussels
• ½ lbs Atlantic Canada hard shell lobster meat chopped
• ¼ cup Red onion, finely chopped
• ½ oz Fresh basil, finely chopped
• 4 oz Olive oil
• 1 tsp Coarse sea salt
• 2 Cloves of fresh garlic, rasped for best results
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Serve on your favourite toasted and buttered crusty bread. Crumble feta cheese on the top then broil and garnish with chives and lemon.

Thank you to MIC, the Consulate General of Canada in Boston and the Lobster Council of Canada for inviting me to share in this culinary and learning experience.

Mussels are can be found produced locally in Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and in British Columbia. Try some today!

To learn more about mussels and to find Canadian growers visit our Canadian Farmed Mussels webpage.

We made it through another fantastic International Boston Seafood Show!

Last week the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) set up a live cooking station from its booth at the International Boston Seafood Show to promote Canadian farmed seafood and our producer members.

This show is the largest and most anticipated seafood event in North America attracting thousands of exhibitors and participants from 130 countries – and it didn’t disappoint.

Not only did we hand out hundreds of copies of our supplier booklets listing export-ready producers of Canadian farmed seafood but we also handed out over 1,000 seafood samples!

Boston-based Chef Scott Patnode sautéed, steamed and shucked tirelessly throughout the three-day event preparing samples of sablefish, Atlantic and Coho salmon, salmon caviar, oysters, mussels and Arctic charr for visitors to taste.

Chef Scott shows off a fillet of Yukon-grown Arctic Char from Icy Waters Arctic Charr.

Our booth featured a six-foot display case where we showcased the diversity of our fresh products. It really helped to attract the attention of show participants – there were some who even took photos of it.

Over 25 CAIA member companies and regional associations were at the event and many operated from our booth to network with retailers, distributors and importers throughout the show.

It’s always a positive experience to interact with buyers and share information about our industry. While most were just eager to get a taste – some asked questions like, “What kind of fish is this?” and, “Where in Canada is this grown?”

Below, visitors wait to sample Atlantic salmon while Pamela Parker from the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association and Mary Ellen Walling of the BC Salmon Farmers Association were on hand to answer questions about salmon farming on Canada’s east and west coasts.

Here we see Maurice Daigle of Maison BeauSoleil step in to help Chef Scott shuck some of their scrumptious Atlantic oysters for visitors to try.

Member support for this show was key to our success. Producers from across Canada shipped over 135 kgs (60 lbs) of product for display and service. Take a moment to get to know more about them!

Badger Bay Mussel Farms. Calkins & Burke. Confederation Cove Mussels. Fanny Bay Oysters. Icy Waters Arctic Charr. Mac’s Oysters. Maison BeauSoleil. Sable Fish Canada. True North Salmon 

Fresh and local are hot, hot trends in food and reflect the way many Canadians shop and cook.

To help in your discovery of seafood produced by local growers, here’s a list of the top 5 seafood products farmed in Canada based on volume.

Available fresh, year-round, pick one for your next meal and feel good knowing it was produced in pristine Canadian waters, to high standards and by passionate Canadian farmers.

No. 5 – Clams

Eat them steamed, baked, deep fried or in a chowder. The Manila clam is the primary clam species farmed in Canada. Others include: softshell clams, hard clams or quahaugs, savory or varnish clams and geoducks. Most are grown in British Columbia but Nova Scotians can also find them local.

No. 4 – Oysters

Shucks! Canada produced nearly 11 tonnes of oysters in 2010. Experiment with different varieties – Pacific, Eastern and Malpeque oysters are the primary sorts farmed in Canada. Find them local in British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

No. 3 – Trout

Canadian farmed trout has a mild, nut-like flavour, delicate taste and silky texture Canadian farmed trout. Even better – it’s naturally low in sodium and calories and is an excellent source of complete protein and omega-3 fatty acids. While 60% of Canadian trout is produced in Ontario, it’s also farmed in the freshwaters of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and British Columbia.

No. 2 – Mussels

Flex your mussels Canada! These versatile morsels are the most produced shellfish in Canada. We produced over 24,000 tonnes in 2010 – and can credit Prince Edward Island farmers for most of that – 77 per cent of Canadian mussels are grown there. Cultured mussels, besides being an excellent source of protein, have more iron and Vitamin B12 than beef. In addition to PEI, look for them local in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and in British Columbia.

No. 1 – Salmon

The heavy-hitter and the number one farmed seafood product in Canada…Salmon. In fact, Canada is the fourth largest salmon producing country in the world. This seafood superstar is rich, flavourful and healthy. You can find salmon farmers on both Canadian coasts where 70 percent is produced in British Columbia and the rest is produced in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Canadian farmed salmon can be harvested, processed and shipped within 24 to 48 hours – so it’s always fresh when it arrives at the seafood counter.

You don’t have to stop with this shopping list. With more than a dozen varieties of seafood farmed in every province and in Yukon Territory there’s no limit to the variety of fresh and local seafood to explore.

Submitted by John Rose, President, Icy Waters Ltd.

As I enter my tenth year in this industry – a sliver of the experience of many of my colleagues – I am continually astounded as to how Canadian aquaculture continues to be a strong engine of innovation, employment and growth, despite the numerous challenges it faces.

The uncertain economy, unpredictable weather and daunting regulatory environment would crush the soul of many normal business folk. Nonetheless, our farmers – shepherds of sorts – continue to wake up and tend their ‘flocks’ of fins and shells. Notwithstanding attending bankers meetings, discussing qualitative trait loci with PhD’s, and welding things, they do about a thousand tasks, all the while providing the world’s best products every single day.

The industry’s strength shouldn’t be astounding, given their unrelenting passion to succeed, but I am always pleasantly surprised.

This past year has had some great achievements. Ask anyone in the industry about their program and what they are working on. They will tell you about the people that work for or with them, their families, their farms, new products, methods and technology. The success will be palpable. It might not always directly equate to ROI, or some other Bay Street metric, but if you listen closely the achievements will be profound.

Despite these achievements, it would be easy to focus on the negative. Our lack of a legitimate national
Aquaculture Act, providing surety to all stakeholders, is a significant impediment to long-term, sustainable growth. Investment is global, and dollars will flow to the areas where there is less risk. Despite our access to the best water, best markets, and best food safety regulations, we languish behind global competitors because we have no assurances that the rules are clear and won’t change overnight. The industry isn’t asking for direct contribution; we can find the money. But money won’t come here if it has no assurances of stability. Not unlike the animals we tend, we too will grow despite the challenges, but imagine how we could grow and how efficient we could be if we had a stable regulatory environment?

CAIA continues to fight hard for all its members, ranging from those with a single tank on the side of a stream to those with multiple sites stretching across hundreds of miles of rugged coastline. From working to ensure industry stakeholders have regulatory surety, to fighting the plethora of misinformation and misguided sentiment, Ruth Salmon and her team continue to make sure people listen. The need for a strong national association such as CAIA has never been greater. As the business case for an Aquaculture Act hits the desks of government, members need to be united and strong in their resolve to demand changes. Your continual support, both in terms of membership dues and governance, will make change happen.

Regardless of these challenges and the need to get up each day and either tend to the fish, or tend to the stakeholders, the industry will triumph. Over the next ten years a lot will change, some faces, some names, but the passion to succeed will be constant.

Among the key ingredients for successful trout farming include clear and cold water, forward-thinking aquaculture and fish R&D, and skilled animal husbandry – and that’s just what I found on Manitoulin Island, Ontario during a two-day aquaculture tour.

Hosted by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) together with the Northern Ontario Aquaculture Association (NOAA), I was joined by 37 other tour participants from academia, all three levels of government, industry and the private sector.

Our tour started at the Alma Aquaculture Research Station. The facility primarily supports research activities of the University of Guelph and focuses on areas of breeding, engineering and system design, fish behaviour, health and welfare and nutrition among others. We saw research underway on rainbow trout culture, arctic charr and tilapia. 

Rearing tanks at Alma Aquaculture Research Station stocked with rainbow trout.

Our tour guide gives us a close look at an adult male rainbow trout. What a big boy – the fish that is.  

An incubation tray of rainbow trout eggs.

We closed out day one of the tour with a stop a the Blue Jay Creek Fish Culture Station which rears lake trout and brown trout for stocking the local lakes.

The next morning took us to Meeker’s Aquaculture Ltd. Owned and operated by Mike and Sharon Meeker, this was the first commercial cage culture farm on Manitoulin Islands and today produces between 3-4,000 tonnes of rainbow trout each year.

The tour was led by Mike himself (and his two sweet dogs – “big sooks” we were told).

Meeker’s employs between five and six full-time employees plus additional when the workload is heaviest.

Onsite at Meekers is a large composting operation that began as a research project. Processing waste from the local trout processing facilities combined with sawdust waste from local mills produces nutrient-rich compost in a very short time.

Marketed under the name Meeker’s Magic Mix, the fish compost is available from Home Hardware^TM stores across Canada. The company is also currently working with the mining industry to use the product in reclamation projects.

A windrow of the compost product curing.

Tour group heads to see how the compost is processed and packaged.

The indoor processing and packaging facility for the compost means Meeker`s Magic Mix can be produced year-round.

Leaving Meeker`s we made our way to Cold Water Fisheries trout processing plant. Although no fish were being processed at the time, we had a great overview of the processing steps and the equipment used.

Our final stop was at North Wind Fisheries Ltd. Owner Dan Glofcheski warmly welcomed us with homemade muffins and local apples and drinks to start this tour of his rainbow trout farm. Opening in 1992, the farm produces approximately 225 tonnes of trout annually.

There are currently eight net pens operating at North Wind. (Now is a good time to mention the beautiful scenery on Manitoulin Island…)

Although laborious, hand-feeding ensures these little fishes are only fed until they stop eating. This saves feed (which is a large expense for farmers) and limits the amount of uneaten feed in the water.

Through this tour, I can see that aquaculture has a great place in Ontario. The deep, cold waters of Lake Huron provide an ideal environment for farming trout in rural communities that can benefit most from this year-round industry.

Unfortunately, while fresh, local food sources are becoming increasingly important to consumers, Ontario trout farms are only able to produce enough to supply about 50% of the trout consumed in Ontario – the rest is imported.

Adding more growing sites would be an easy solution however; a complex regulatory framework seems to be the obstacle along with a lack of consistent, science-based environmental monitoring programs.

Successful trout farming in Ontario, like most other aquaculture producing regions in Canada, requires an intense passion and commitment on the part of the farmer. Navigating clumsy regulations and policies while trying to grow healthy, nutritious farmed seafood is demanding but when all you are rewarded with in the end is the right to simply remain in operation – rather than grow – it must be very trying.

So the next time you select a Canadian farmed seafood product, feel good knowing that not only is it local, fresh and healthy but it was produced for us by farmers who are tremendously devoted to doing so.

A big thank you to our tour hosts. Steve Naylor from OMAFRA did a fantastic job coordinating this – no easy task given the number of us. Likewise, thank you to Karen Tracy of NOAA and to its membership – the farmed trout donated for the networking dinner was yummy!

Thank you to Cooke Aquaculture and the Northern Ontario Aquaculture Association for their generous support of this sponsorship initiative.

Canadian farmed seafood will be featured on the reception menu of the “Taste of Canada” dinner that will kick off the 2011 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Congress, September 14-18 in Guelph, Ontario.

Over 260 of the world’s leading agriculture journalists will enjoy smoked Atlantic farmed salmon (True North Salmon) and Ontario farm-raised rainbow trout (North Shore Specialties) donated by CAIA as an in-kind sponsor of the event.

This event is a nice fit for CAIA – Aquaculture is the new flavour in the agricultural ‘scoop’ and Canadian seafood farmers have great stories to tell!

Like all farming, aquaculture in Canada helps to supply a growing population with healthy and nutritious food all year round.

Moreover, aquaculture is the world’s fastest-growing animal food-producing sector – and already produces half of all the seafood the world eats.

For more information about Canadian farmed seafood, for story ideas or to arrange interviews, please contact me: Sheri Beaulieu, e-mail: sheri.beaulieu@aquaculture.ca, Tel: 613-239-0612.

Click to watch the new TV ads!

BC Salmon Facts has released some cool new TV ads.

These 15-second animated graphic spots are not only good-looking – they’re straight to the point.

Each ad focuses on one of four key take-away facts about salmon farming, which apply to all Canadian farmed seafood production:

• Economic value: farmed salmon is BCs largest agricultural export.
• Efficient food production: salmon farming requires less land and feed than raising other livestock.
• Food security: aquaculture is key to feeding a growing global population.
• Ease wild stock pressure: the pressure to overfish the oceans would be even greater without aquaculture.

“Canadian salmon farmers, like all aquaculture producers, are committed in providing safe, quality seafood in a sustainable manner, but far too often aren’t given the credit they deserve,” said Ruth Salmon, Executive Director of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance. “We’re proud to see the BCSFA and its members standing up for this important industry and raising awareness of the benefits of salmon farming to British Columbians – and to all Canadians.”

The ads will run into the fall on television and online news sources. There are also online banner ads in rotation.

To check them out yourself, visit www.bcsalmonfacts.ca.

On July 30th, Canadians are encouraged to recognize the hard work of Canadian farmers and food producers by taking part in Food Day Canada celebrations and eating Canadian food.

“Canadians should be proud of our farmers and processors for producing some of the tastiest, safest and freshest products in the world,” said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. “On July 30th and all year round, we encourage Canadians to incorporate all-Canadian ingredients in their meals at home, or by visiting one of the approximately 300 participating restaurants across the country that will be serving all-Canadian menus on Food Day Canada.”

Selecting Canadian and locally grown foods supports the thousands of local farmers who work very hard to bring you high quality, safe food.

It’s time to cook and eat Canadian!

For a list of participating restaurants, recipes and more information about Food Day Canada 2011 visit www.fooddaycanada.ca.

Submitted by Prof. Bruce Holub, University Of Guelph , Email:  bholub@uoguelph.ca

I am submitting the following ‘blog’ as a follow-up to my recent radio interview on the CBC Fisheries Broadcast regarding the omega-3 fatty acid contents of farmed versus wild fish. It is generally recognized that higher intakes of fish/seafood than currently consumed in North America can be expected to both improve overall human health (including brain and visual functioning) and reduce the prevalence and severity of various chronic disorders including coronary heart disease. Amongst the several important nutrients in fish, the abundance of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids as DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) plus EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) appear to be particularly important as mediators of these benefits. A thorough reading of the many health benefits of fish/seafood and DHA/EPA omega-3 including regular updates on newly-published findings can be found at www.dhaomega3.org . Because of these expected health outcomes, Canada’s Food Guide advises Canadians in general to eat at least two Food Guide Servings (total of 150 grams) of fish every week such as salmon, trout, mackerel, herring, sardines and others while restricting certain fish during pregnancy and childhood (shark, swordfish, orange roughy, fresh/frozen tuna, others). The American Dietetic Association ( ADA) and the Dietitians of Canada (DC) have specifically advised a daily intake of 500 mg/day of DHA plus EPA in support of optimal health. Based on our published dietary assessments, average Canadian intakes of DHA/EPA are approximately 25 % of this target.

Since the predominant dietary source of DHA/EPA by far is fish , the absolute amounts of DHA and EPA as found in various fish options as available to the consumer is very important. In this regard, numerous influential news reports, popular websites and spokepersons have widely stated that wild fish have much more omega-3 fatty acids than farmed fish. This is a widely-held public perception based on my personal experiences in the classroom, off-campus when guest-lecturing at conferences or public gatherings, or dealing with the media/press. While this perception is occasionally valid (depending on the specific aquaculture practices), the opposite is very often true. Further, some outlets often base their reportings on ‘relative percentages of omega-3 fatty acids’ and not the all important ‘absolute amounts’ (ie, mg of DHA/EPA per given weight of a fish serving).

The enrichment of DHA/EPA in wild fish via the natural food chain begins with the formation of these omega-3 fatty acids in the phytoplankton and bio-accumulation via zooplankton and smaller aquatic organisms including fish fry. In the case of farmed fish, the amount of DHA/EPA (from various fish by-product sources) added to the feed in the aquaculture operation has a major influential impact on the DHA/EPA contents (absolute amounts) in the final product. The omega-3 contents (mg per 100 gm ) of farm-raised Atlantic salmon, trout, etc. can vary dramatically within a species due to different feed compositions. Farmed halibut were found to have total amounts of (DHA plus EPA) per 100 gm muscle in filets which were 13 times that for wild halibut. A published Canadian study from Quebec (Food and Chemical Toxicol., 45: 1343-1348 (2007)) found that both farmed and wild rainbow trout and salmon were rich sources of DHA/EPA. The wild and farmed Atlantic salmon sold in Quebec (via Canadian and Chilean farms) showed no significant differences in DHA/EPA contents. Interestingly, the farmed trout had triple the absolute amounts of DHA plus EPA (mg/100 gm serving) relative to the wild trout and also had one-half the level of mercury.

In a recent interview that I was asked to partake in with the NY Times (May 2, 2011) , the importance of determining the DHA/EPA contents in fish produce was emphasized. Any producers who wish to enquire regarding such analyses within the fatty acid analytical lab at the University of Guelph Research Park can contact the author directly.

Canadian farmed seafood is a healthy and sustainable choice. Farmers in every province and the Yukon are producing more than a dozen types of seafood fresh, year-round.

Choose from salmon, trout, arctic char, sablefish, mussels, oysters, clams, scallops, and tilapia and let your culinary imagination flow. Feel good, too, for helping to taking pressure off wild seafood stocks.

Seafood is also nutritious. It is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack and Alzheimer’s Disease, guard against Rheumatoid Arthritis and reduce depression.

Whether treating Dad to a home-cooked meal or taking him out this Father’s Day, be sure to ask your waiter or seafood counter for Canadian farmed seafood. It’s local, fresh, sustainable and good for him!