PACIFIC COD

PACIFIC

Bottom longline, bottom trawl, jig or trap caught
A lean, white-fleshed fish with mild flavor and a medium texture. Baked, battered, or pan-fried, it’s a versatile fish with many different cooking options. Pacific cod is well managed as part of the groundfish fishery

PICKEREL WALLEYE

LAKE ERIE, HURON & ONTARIO

Bottom gillnet or trap net
A delicate, mildly sweetflavoured freshwater fish that is quite lean. Tastes very good poached or steamed with ginger and garlic, but heavy sauces are not recommended.
Bottom gillnets and trap nets cause minimal damage to the surrounding environment.

Pacific Halibut

B.C.

Bottom longline or handline caught
A lean, white-fleshed fish with a firm texture and distinctive flavour. Very versatile, halibut lends itself to many cooking techniques including frying, grilling, baking, and broiling. The Pacific halibut fishery is jointly regulated by Canada and the U.S. with annual catch limits.

Lake whitefish

LAKES HURON, SUPERIOR, ONTARIO & ERIE

Bottom gill net or trap net caught
This white-fleshed, freshwater fish is extremely versatile and easy to cook. Its delicate taste and medium-to-firm texture is comparable to a salmon fillet. Lake whitefish populations have recovered from previous overfishing and are now considered healthy, abundant, and wellmanaged

Northern coldwater prawn

GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE

Bottom trawl
Northern shrimp are sweet and delicate and although they are much smaller than their tropical cousins, they are more sought after than the warm water varieties. The fishery is subject to several management measures. For instance, to reduce bycatch of groundfish, all shrimp trawlers must be fitted with a Nordmore separator grate.

SALMON: CHUM, PINK, SOCKEYE

B.C. & ALASKA
EXCLUDING SOUTHEAST ALASKA & YAKUTAT

Seine net; gill or troll caught
Salmon vary in taste from light and mild to rich and buttery. B.C. and Alaskan Wild Pacific salmon are an intensively managed species, a great alternative to open-net pen-farmed salmon.

ARCTIC CHAR

Worldwide: Closed-system farmed
Nunavut: Bottom gillnet or weir

A popular choice for grilling, and a great substitute for trout or salmon, Arctic char is sustainably farmed with closed, land-based systems, reducing many of the risks of open-netpen farming. Arctic char is also caught by bottom gillnet or weir in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, part of a sustainable small-scale fishery.

SABLEFISH (BLACK COD)

ALASKA & B.C.

Bottom longline, trap caught or bottom trawl
A richly flavoured fish with a high fat content and a smooth, velvety texture. Similar to cod, sablefish is white fleshed with large, delicate flakes. B.C. and Alaskan sablefish fisheries are well-managed using bottom longlines, traps, and bottom trawls.

ATLANTIC SALMON WORLDWIDE

Closed-system farmed
A moratorium on commercial Atlantic salmon fishing in Canada has been in place since 1998. The purpose of a closed containment system (on land) is to restrict and control the potentially negative interactions between farmed salmon and the surrounding aquatic environment – water contamination, disease, and especially threats to wild fish population.

SHELLFISH: CLAMS, MUSSELS, OYSTERS, SCALLOPS

Beach or suspension farmed

Northwest Atlantic: Hand rake or tong

From stews to à la carte delicacies, shellfish are an important part of Canadian cuisine, varying in taste from mild and delicate to rich and earthy. Shellfish are generally farmed off the bottom of the sea floor in either suspended bags or on ropes or trays with minimal impact on the surrounding environment.

RAINBOW TROUT STEELHEAD

Closed-system farmed
This freshwater trout is known for its mild flavour and tender, light pink flesh. Lemon juice, fresh herbs, butter, and almonds are popular flavour pairings for this fish. Rainbow trout that are farmed using closed ‘raceways’ reduces many of the risks associated with conventional open-net lake-pen farming.

ALBACORE TUNA

B.C. & NORTH ATLANTIC

Pole or troll caught
Known for its rich flavour, due to the high fat content. Albacore tuna is fast growing and highly reproductive, making them inherently resilient to fishing pressure. Troll or pole fishing methods result in much lower incidents of by-catch than are typical with more common method of pelagic longline.