Nova Scotia sets groundwork for cultured rainbow trout industry

During the presentation at the Aquaculture Canada Conference 2018 in May in Quebec, AANS R&D coordinator Isabelle Tremblay said the association has put out a call for proposal to determine who can “bring that strategy forward and develop a strategy for Nova Scotia.”

“We realize this a long-term plan. But if we want to continue to grow... we realize that we have to be self-sufficient with the eggs and not just depend all the time on outside egg supplier.

Currently, the Canadian province has only one egg source and it is located in the U.S. Growing the species in the surrounding cold sea waters poses another challenge. An option for the farmers is a maturing rainbow trout strain that is well-adapted to cold salt-water conditions.

These were the considerations factored in when a delegation of five, Tremblay included, went on a mission to Norway and Denmark in September 2017, funded by the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

“It was important to visit places where breeding program could produce rainbow trout eggs that would produce fish that will perform in Nova Scotia conditions,” she told Hatchery International.

In Norway, they went to the hatchery facilities of AquaGen, Skretting, and Nordlaks, a trout farm. Two more egg suppliers awaited them in Denmark – Troutex and AquaSearch ova.

Some farmers are currently looking at the possibility of importing rainbow trout eggs from some of the egg suppliers visited, but no confirmation has been made, she said.