The ling cod is one ugly fish but looks can be deceiving and in this case a scary looking fish makes one heck of a tasty meal. In one of the most unusual size relationships between the male and the female of the species, the female can be 6 to ten times the size of the male. Female ling cod grow to a gargantuan 5 feet in length and weigh up to 80 pounds and have been known to be cannibalistic. Watch out boys.

Actually not a cod, but rather a member of the Pacific greenling family, ling cod are unique to the west coast of North America with the greatest abundance in the rocky areas and underwater reefs of British Columbia. We harvest ling cod using hook and line methods to ensure the highest quality product while avoiding the devastation to other species that trawling and dragging causes. With an almost translucent greenish flesh that turns to a tender snowy white meat when cooked, ling cod is often preferred to halibut and that is saying something.

With a flat body and mottled olive colouring to blend into the ocean floor, the Pacific Halibut is the largest of all flatfish growing to a length of eight feet and a weight of 600 pounds. There is a relatively long fishing season from March to November so the availability of fresh halibut is good. Unlike the Atlantic halibut which is endangered throughout its range, the Pacific halibut is comparatively abundant, in large part due to the management and tight regulation of the fishery by the International Pacific Halibut Commission of the United States and Canada. However, close to 90% of the catch is exported so this does result in a reduction in domestic supply and fairly high prices.

Like ling cod harvesting, we use sustainable long line methods. We harvest Pacific halibut along the west coast of Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlottes, where the young halibut are usually found close to the shore with the older fish preferring the deeper water. Pacific halibut is prized for the delicate flavor and firm texture of its sparkling white flesh. The lean white meat of the Pacific halibut is high in protein and low in sodium, fat and calories, and it is almost all meat for easy preparation. So halibut as whole fish, fillets or portions adapts well to baking, broiling, frying, poaching or barbecuing. Great fish and chips! Try it in Victoria at Chandlers on Wharf Street. You will love it.

This torpedo shaped fish can really travel and can be found in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea. Albacore tuna caught by hook-and-line off of the West Coast of British Columbia is a healthy choice over Blue fin because of the low comparative level of toxins since albacore is caught at a younger age (usually in the 10 to 14 pound range). Trolling for albacore also avoids the slaughter of threatened or endangered sea turtles, sharks and mammals that other less targeted methods cause.

We have sampled loins of albacore tuna during the fall fishery when their diet of anchovies provides the albacore tuna with a higher oil content and more flavourful flesh. We baked and barbequed the loins with butter and lemon wash and were impressed. We also cut some pieced to create our own sushi. Sashimi grade (served as shiro maguro), the tuna loins have a rosy pink flesh that turns ivory white when seared.

Talk about seafood that is way more environmentally friendly than the competition. We tend to buy Tiger prawns and White prawns at the grocery store but we should be aware that most of these products are mass produced in huge farms in the Far East and contain anti-biotics and other contaminants that are a result of these industrial aqua-farming methods.

By harvesting with traps rather than nets, our B.C. spot prawn fishery has little impact on the sea bed and sees virtually no unintended and discarded catch, making it one of the best managed and most sustainable of the fisheries. The shrimp are caught and moved into holding tanks to ensure top quality and flavour. You have got to try the delicious sweet taste of our shrimps. Some say that they have a slightly nutty fragrant quality and are nice and firm unlike a lot of imported/farmed product which can be mushy. Ask for local prawns.