Ontario trout farmer goes organic
Since organic standards for aquaculture producers were introduced to Canadian consumers a few years ago, companies like Creative Salmon on the west coast of Vancouver Island and Yellow Island Aquaculture near Campbell River have been producing farmed Chinook salmon in accordance with these standards, although only Creative Salmon has gone through the process of official certification. And, according to reliable sources, the modifications to their production process did not involve significant changes to the way these companies were already growing their fish. One of the main (and questionable) criteria that the organic certification process includes is the prohibition on the use of synthetic forms of pigments like Astaxanthin.
According to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) posted yesterday, Mike Meeker’s trout farm on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron also achieved its organic status without having to drastically change the way his floating net pen operation is managed;
A Manitoulin aquaculture operation has developed a fish to satisfy those who demand organic food. Mike Meeker has just been recognized by the premier of Ontario for being the first producer of certified, organic rainbow trout in the country. He said he’s not doing anything terribly different than he was before he was certified. Meeker said he wasn’t giving his fish antibiotics for six to seven years before his certification which is contrary to most commercial operations. That, he said, shows how healthy his fish were already.
But Meeker said there are strict rules. “The most important thing is food,” he says. “What do we feed the fish? And obviously what we put in, whether you’re human or fish, you put in your body is going to be a big part of your make-up. We have really stringent regulations about food. We can’t have GMO ingredients.” He goes on to say that he has to be able to demonstrate that the fishmeal itself is environmentally sustainable.
Space is also important to grow healthy fish. Meeker says they should have the same density as if they were growing in the wild. Meeker said these are just good practices generally. “I hate to differentiate the organic from the normal,” he said. “I lived on the site where I grew my fish and I raised my kids on that site, so I think all of us fish farmers are committed stewards of the water, and the organic standards take that idea a couple steps more.”
Meeker sells his trout under the Blue Goose brand in Sobey’s stores across Ontario and Quebec. He said he can’t grow enough to meet the demand noting that stores import trout from Argentina and Peru. He said he’s actively pursuing an increase in production which includes potential partnerships with First Nations communities.
