Gold River, B.C. — The Craftsman Farmers of Skuna Bay proudly provided their best Skuna Bay Salmon for an official Canada Head of State dinner at Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa on Monday. Chef Louis Simard, Executive Chef at the reknowned hotel, expertly prepared a tartar for the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, Mrs. Laureen Harper and the Honourable Tony Abbott, Prime Minister of Australia.
The salmon selected for this special dinner were 10-12 pound farmed Atlantic salmon from the Concepcion sea farms in Nootka Sound, off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Head Farmer Steve Munro oversaw the harvest to ensure his fish were carefully handled during the process. Said Steve, “we timed the harvest carefully, as we always do with our salmon, to make sure the fish were in the seine pocket no longer than 45 minutes. This protects our fish from fatigue and stress. The harvest went perfectly and we all knew that we had done our best.”
The fish were then transferred to Salmon Experts at Walcan Seafods on Quadra Island for the special inspection, selection, hand cleaning and ice packing. Cam Pirie, General Manager and member of Walcan’s family ownership noted, “we had no problem getting the best fish for Prime Minister Harper – there were plenty to choose from – but just in case, I was on the floor overseeing the selection and packing. When it was done we packed the salmon bellies with ice, sealed up the box with tamper proof tape and our Salmon Expert Gary signed and dated the label. We expected the salmon to arrive in perfect condition.”
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