A Surrey company will be delivering sockeye salmon raised in closed containment pens to Vancouver supermarkets next week.
Don Read, the owner of Willowfield Enterprises, told Business in Vancouver his company is the first in the world to breed sockeye in a land-based closed-containment system. Other fish farming operations usually produce Atlantic salmon, which is easier to breed, he said.
"What makes us unique is we're the only people in the world to successfully cultivate sockeye … The fact that we do it inland in closed-containment tanks makes it very, very unique," said Read.
Read said that his business has been working on the project for the last 15 years, and that he chose to focus on sockeye as a way of differentiating his brand from other fish farmers.
Open-net fish farming, in which the fish are raised in enclosures in the ocean, have come under attack from environmentalists and some scientists, who say the practice can spread disease to wild fish stocks.
Closed-containment systems have been promoted by conservation groups such as Save Our Salmon as a more environmentally friendly way to farm fish.
Read's product will be for sale at Choices markets next week under the brand name West Creek Sockeye.
