Sustainable Seafood Enters Local Market: Chedabucto Bay Trap-Caught Shrimp

For Immediate Release

October 30, 2007

With the decline of the cod stocks, species like shrimp, crab, lobster and scallop have become the mainstays of Nova Scotia’s fisheries. While lobster and crab are caught with traps or pots, both shrimp and scallops are fished with gear that disturbs the sea floor.

Canso Fisherman Mike Newell saw the potential for a new way of doing things. For almost a decade, fishermen in Chedabucto Bay have been fishing shrimp with traps. The result – a clean fishery, no bycatch, no damage to the bottom – and a larger, better quality product. The trap fishery is an inshore fishery, which means fishermen don’t have to go far and fuel costs are minimal.

“Trap caught shrimp are one of those products that can take advantage of the demand for local food, sustainably caught food as well as providing a top notch product to a niche market.” says Ginny Boudreau, manager at GCIFA.

Until recently, these shrimp have been lumped into the processing plant with the rest of the shrimp. A new initiative through the Ecology Action Centre, the Guysborough County Inshore Fisherman’s Association and Fisherman’s Market aims to change that.

“This is an exciting opportunity to make the most of what we are doing here in the Canso, area says Kevin Horne. “It’s is a great opportunity for us to make the most of our fishery and benefit our community.”

“We have had chef’s calling us and asking when the shrimp will be in”, says Sadie Beaton of the Ecology Action Centre’s Sustainable Seafood program. “Unlike meat or vegetables, the options for local and sustainable seafood are limited in Nova Scotia, partly because we do not celebrate our independent small scale fisheries, in the same way we do farmers. This is starting to change.”

The shrimp will be available fresh frozen and unpeeled. This minimizes processing costs, and maximizes the quality of the product. A high quality product should mean that fishermen are rewarded accordingly, by price at the dock.

In Europe, people order bowls of sautéed prawns with their beer – we see an opportunity for Chedabucto Trap Caught shrimp to become similar to mussel’s in Atlantic Canadian eating establishments.

Promotion of the shrimp locally is the first step, and the market is assessed, the fishermen and Fishermen’s Market hope that this can be the start of a new way of doing business in the Canso area.

The first shipment of the trap caught shrimp will arrive in Halifax this Monday, with local chef’s serving up a variety of dishes. Individuals can buy the shrimp from Fishermen’s Market on the Bedford Highway and from Home Grown Organics.