We Sat Down with Dave Mergle, Director of Skuna Bay Salmon, and other Skuna Bay Reps to get the Lowdown on Farm-Raised Fish
In an age where we are more concerned with our food and where it comes from, it is important to make sure we are well-informed on current food practices, rather than being stuck on archaic notions about what is good and what is bad for us. Previously, when we thought of farm-raised fish, many of us thought that it was bad for us, poorly raised and genetically modified. Fortunately, farming practices have been greatly improved and we now have farms like Skuna Bay that ensure that our farm-raised salmon is of the highest quality and raised under the best conditions. At an event at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, we got the chance to hear about the current issues with fish populations as well as why you should start eating farm-raised salmon.
Dave Mergle, Director of Skuna Bay Salmon, gave us some insight as to why this high-quality salmon is the go-to for top chefs, restaurants and purveyors like Patty Glennon of Santa Monica Seafood and Paul Buchanan of Primal Alchemy Catering.
Question: What is one of the most important things you want everyone to know about Skuna Bay salmon?
Dave Mergle: More than 50 percent of the seafood consumed around the world is from farms. For those who say, “I don’t think fish farming is good and it needs to stop,” well, that just isn’t going to happen. So, let’s move past that and try to go through facilities with improved and sustainable processes. The main thing we thought about when we started was that we need to do things differently and better. We need to be the leaders in what we do and try to empower the market and create competition to improve people’s practices. Of course, we weren’t arrogant enough to think that was our job or that we are better than anyone else, or even that we had that power, but what does have that power is the marketplace. We knew that there was a screaming hunger for good quality fish that is produced responsibly that you can consistently trust, and that’s what we spend our time doing.
Q: What kind of feedback did you get from chefs when you first began this endeavor?
DM: At first, they didn’t want to buy farmed fish because they thought it was an industrial process. They didn’t think that the quality of farmed fish was that great, and that it wasn’t sustainable. They were afraid they couldn’t trust it. After I collected this input, I got on an airplane, flew to Vancouver Island on a little plane, landed on a tiny strip, got on another tiny plane, then got in a Jeep, bombed down to the other side of the island and eventually, after an hour and a half, got to this little community on the other side of the island. It’s just this amazing, immaculate, natural environment. From there, it’s another 40 minutes up to the farms, and finally after going up there, you’re seeing eagles and bears and you’re out in the middle of nowhere and that’s the farm. The first thing you think is that in no way could this ever be considered industrial. I thought to myself, “Well, this is what we need to tell people about.” What people really need to know about are the unsung heroes that go out there day in and day out and produce the salmon. They watch the salmon seven days in a row, away from their families, and they’re out there because it’s the perfect environment for raising salmon. There are perfect tidal currents and natural glacier-fed water that cascades off the mountains, and it’s the perfect environment, but so hard to get to. The only way to raise salmon out there is to have these guys out there seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
Mike Cooper, one of the farmers for Skuna Bay, was also in attendance at the event and was able to speak on this incredible farm and what he does day in and day out to ensure that high quality, sustainably raised salmon is provided each and every time.
Question: How do your days at the farm begin and what are the first steps to ensure that everything is up to par?
Mike Cooper: The first thing we do every morning is check the water and make sure that all of the pH levels, salinity and temperatures are good for the salmon. That glacier water keeps the water cool and the salinity low so the fish are always moving. We make sure the environmentals are perfect and then we feed the fish. The main goal is to raise amazing salmon, and only 6 percent of the salmon we grow gets the label of Skuna Bay Salmon. When we harvest these fish we take them from a small net so as not to disrupt the entire population of fish. We take the fish out 45 minutes at a time, and if there is still fish after that 45 minutes, it goes back.
Q: What would you say is the biggest difference from wild caught salmon to your salmon?
DM: They are a different species. We grow our fish in a specific environment so the other fish you might see like the sockeye, coho and Chinook are all going to have a different taste profile. They’re going to be leaner and part of that is because they are constantly swimming. They consume an uncontrolled diet. Where I’m from in Vancouver, salmon is a cultural icon. People are picky about their salmon. What I’m proud of that we do differently is that we have process where nothing is left to chance. We process them before they go into rigor and we harvest them in an environment with the least amount of stress. Stress really affects the taste of the meat itself due to the lactic acid. The same six people select the fish every time by hand, belly ice it and write their name on the box. I don’t think there’s anybody on the wild side that does anything like that. Wild salmon is great, but I can guarantee that no one is processing it the way we do.
Q: What do the salmon eat?
DM: We use consistently good and healthy ingredients. We want to reduce our use of wild fish, because we want to be at a one-to-one ratio. We want to produce a kilo of fish without using more than a kilo of fish. We use a lot of plant protein, sometimes animal protein. A big component is pea meal, as well as canola and corn. We don’t use soy, because it’s so hard for animals to digest. We use local farmers, use the healthiest ingredients, try to keep our carbon footprint low and reduce the use of wild fish. Those are our main buckets on our list of importance.
Question: What would you say is one of the most important factors when it comes to feeding the growing population without draining our current level of resources?
Kim Thompson: We have 35 years to figure out a way to feed 2 billion more people. We have to find a way to do that without reducing our current resources and contributing to more climate change. We need an arsenal of innovative, science-based solutions that are conducive to a healthy planet and healthy communities. That includes great aquaculture and not being closed off to GMO’s.
Q: What can we do to help aquaculture and not hinder it?
KT: Balance is key. Well managed fisheries are always going to play a role. We need support for environmentally responsible aquaculture. We cannot continue to rely on the limits of land that we have left and feed two billion extra mouths.
Q: What are some of the other benefits of farm raised fish?
KT: Mini ecosystems are growing and birds are coming back to regions that haven’t been seen in years. They have ecosystems and sources of food that weren’t previously available to them anymore.
As is the case with all food, knowing where it comes from and how it is produced is always important to guarantee quality and sustainability. Fish farms have come a long way, and many farms, such as Skuna Bay, are consistently striving to improve their environment and practices to better serve not only you but the planet overall. Skuna Bay has made itself completely transparent to the consumer in order to showcase their best practices and make us more comfortable with how our food is being handled as well as their impact on the planet.
