Canadian Farmed Sablefish

Species farmed…

Sablefish (Anopoploma fimbria) – also known as Blackcod – is a deep-water fish that is quite widely distributed along the continental shelf of the Northern Pacific Ocean ranging from California north to Alaska and the Bering Sea.

Why they’re environmentally sustainable…

All approvals for sablefish farms in Canada are subject to an intensive environmental review according to both federal and provincial legislation. Sablefish farms can only be sited in areas where water currents provide optimal conditions for fish health and environmental sustainability.

In addition to ensuring that their farms are sustainable, sablefish farmers are also helping to ensure the sustainability of wild sablefish populations. As a result of sustained over fishing, the standing stock biomass of the wild sablefish has fallen by approximately 100,000 metric tons over the last 10 years. As farmed sablefish production increases, it will supply an increasing proportion of the consumer demand for sablefish – thereby decreasing the pressure on wild populations created by the wild fishery.

What they eat…

Sablefish are fed nutrient-dense, dry pellets made of fish meal, fish oil and wheat. No pigmentation is added to the fish feed to adjust flesh color. The fish meal and oil are primarily made from herring by-catch or anchovies. The feed manufacturer also adds essential vitamins, and minerals to feed.