Halifax, NS — The first winter season delivery of Chedabucto Bay Trap Caught
Shrimp garnered an enthusiastic response from chefs, retailers and
customers this past week. That’s great news for seafood lovers who are
looking forward to including shrimp in their holiday festivities, but are
also concerned about the environmental impacts of their food choices.
Wild shrimp are often caught with trawl gear that damages the ocean floor
and results in the wasted bycatch of many unintended species. Whereas
farmed shrimp are often associated with chemical and pesticide residues and
impacts to tropical mangrove ecosystems. SeaChoice, a
National Sustainable Seafood Program ranks the Atlantic Trap Shrimp as a
Green ‘Best Choice’ option for sustainable seafood.
Proudly featuring their new brand logo, Canso trap shrimp fishermen are
responding to a growing demand for fresh high quality sustainably caught
Atlantic shrimp. This winter season, fishermen in Canso are out on cold
early mornings fishing shrimp with modified lobster traps. The result– a
clean fishery with no bycatch and no damage to the bottom– and a larger,
better quality product. As well, the trap fishery happens inshore, which
means fishermen don’t have to go far and the carbon footprint is reduced.
“Trap caught shrimp are one of those special seafood products that can take
advantage of the demand for local food, sustainably caught food as well as
providing a top notch product to the market.” says Ginny Boudreau, manager
at Guysborough County Inshore Fishermen’s Association.
These tasty shrimp have caught the eye and interest of Dan Donovan at
Hooked Inc., a leading quality and sustainable seafood specialty fish
market in Toronto. Closer to home they are being featured by chefs at top
Halifax restaurants Fid Resto, both locations of the Wooden Monkey, Chives
Canadian Bistro, Gio, Hamachi Steakhouse, Ratinaud French Cuisine, as well
as by Feisty Chef Renée Lavallée. Independent specialty retailer Pete’s
Frootique is also pleased to be able to get their hands on this superior
fresh local product.
The Chedabucto Bay Trap Caught Shrimp also received attention as the
feature dish at a Slow Food Nova Scotia event on Sunday celebrating
International Terra Madre Day at the new Wooden Monkey in Dartmouth.
"Chedabucto Bay Trap caught shrimp is arguably the sweetest shrimp I have
ever been fortunate enough to eat and to cook with. Whether served raw or
lightly steamed and served with a glass of Nova Scotia Tidal Bay wine, this
iconic Nova Scotia product is one of our newest and most desirable
seafoods," remarked Tempestuous Culinary Chef Michael Howell.
“Chefs are calling and there is quite a buzz around when the shrimp will be
in”, says Dave Adler at the Ecology Action Centre who works on sustainable
seafood with the Off The Hook Community Supported Fishery. “Unlike meat or
fruit and vegetables, the options for local and sustainable seafood are
limited in Nova Scotia, partly because we haven’t celebrated our
independent small scale fisheries in the same way we are doing with local
farmers. This is starting to change.”
Much of the catch from the Canso fishery heads to Japan where it is valued
in the high end sushi market, but with the establishment of new channels
into Halifax and Toronto restaurants and retail markets, there is a real
opportunity for Canadians to keep and enjoy our local sustainable shrimp.
Local and regional demand for the shrimp is just the first step for this
developing fishery. With sustainable seafood increasingly on the radar both
locally and globally, valuable opportunities for small-scale sustainable
fisheries in Nova Scotia are growing. As markets are developed, Chedabucto
Bay fishermen are helping to shape the start of a new way of doing business
in the Canso area, where a sustainable high quality product is rewarded
accordingly by a fair price at the dock.
“This is an exciting opportunity to make the most of what we are doing here
in the Canso area,” says fisherman Kevin Horne. “It’s is a great
opportunity for us to make the most of our fishery and benefit our
community.”
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