Fresh, Wild Canadian Salmon Shipped to Europe
POST DATE Jul 22, 2019
AUTHOR admin
The demand for fresh, wild Canadian salmon is growing in European markets, and it’s easy to understand why. Salmon products form a traditional part of many European diets, with over 2 kilograms (kg) consumed per person in 2014 (EUMOFA, 2016). Over a thousand new salmon products are released in the EU each year, and many of these products are in high-value sectors such as pet foods and health and wellness.
Wild Pacific salmon are one of British Columbia’s readily available, versatile and simply delicious resources. Caught off the west coast of Canada, B.C. fisheries target five varieties of Pacific salmon including chinook, chum, coho, pink and sockeye - with the seasons varying year to year. This article spotlights Walcan’s fresh chum salmon fishery for European customers and our processes to ensure the highest quality product to our international customers.
The migrations of adult salmon have always been an important source of food and trade for Indigenous groups in British Columbia. As settler Canadians started with commercial salmon canning operations in the latter part of the 1860s, the demand for salmon began to see rapid growth. In recent decades, the production has broadened to include an array of fresh, frozen, smoked and prepared products. This year, chum salmon are Walcan’s choice for fresh international shipping, as their availability happens both through the summer and fall months.
Walcan’s Chum fishery operates off the central coast of the British Columbia mainland and northeast coast of Vancouver Island, see map.
This year, the Area 8 fisheries open and close on Mondays, unless there is an extension. Freshly caught chum are offloaded in Port Hardy and trucked to Walcan, where we begin processing, filleting and packing on ice. By Thursday night, the first shipment will leave Walcan via truck to the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and depart for Europe on Friday. Additionally, a second truck will leave on Sundays for YVR for flights departing on Monday.
For more information on our fresh sales, contact us today!
