With its many kilometres of coastline, Quebec offers great opportunities for aquaculture.
Why encourage mariculture?
What species grow in Quebec waters?
Let’s start with an introduction.
Meeting Quebec's mariculturists
Five people from the world of aquaculture explain what brought them to this occupation and introduce you to their know-how.
Information
Video length: 3 minutes and 16 seconds
Location and shooting date: Gaspé Peninsula, 2022 and Smarter seafood show, 2023
Excerpts from interviews conducted by: Jean-Sébastien Laliberté and Maylis Persoons, Exploramer museologists
Videographer and editor: Guillaume Lévesque, Les productions de la Morue Salée
Interviewees:
- Eric Bujold, Ferme maricole du Grand Large
- Marie-Hélène Rondeau, Mi’gmaq Wolastoqey Indigenous Fisheries Management Association
- Sandra Autef, Mi’gmaq Wolastoqey Indigenous Fisheries Management Association
- Jean-Philippe Hébert, Fermes marines du Québec
- Élisabeth Varennes, Seabiosis
Credit: Exploramer, 2024
Transcription
[Music in the background.]
[View of boats moored at the dock and then on a wooden pontoon.]
[Shot of Eric Bujold talking, sitting outdoors with a boat in the background.]
Eric Bujold: Hi, my name is Eric Bujold, and I’m a mariculturist and owner of the Ferme maricole du Grand Large, which markets William B oysters and mussels in Carleton-sur-Mer.
[View of the dock, then close-ups of various boat equipment and a boat pulley, then back to Eric.]
Oysters, and mussels too, are like wine, so depending on the region you go to, the flavor will change. So, especially with oysters, connoisseurs will be able to tell the difference between an oyster from here and one from elsewhere. And our oysters have the distinction of being much saltier than those found in Eastern Canada. So they’re very much in demand.
[View of oysters in a cage and then a hand.]
Marie-Hélène Rondeau: Yes, well my name is Marie-Hélène Rondeau.
[Shot of Marie-Hélène Rondeau talking.]
I’m a biologist and project manager at MWIFMA.
[View on a panel with the MWIFMA logo and tilt down to black and white photos then back to Marie-Hélène.]
MWIFMA ‘s mission is to promote the sound management of aquatic and ocean resources in the communities we serve. That is, the Mi’gmaqs of Gesgapegiag and Gespeg, and the Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk Nation, formerly known as the Maliseets of Viger.
[Music intensifies.]
[View of a panel with the Salaweg logo, then a fish spice packet and a meat spice packet.]
[View of a jar of sea relish and a jar of tartar mix.]
Aquaculture is basically like gardening.
[Back to Marie-Hélène.]
So, we are now rope-seeding in sea waters.
[View of the sea.]
And we are creating new habitats where none existed before.
[View of an algae seeding rope being lifted out of the water, then on a person cutting the algae from the rope.]
So we’re not removing algae that already exists in the sea. From that point of view, it’s a sustainable activity because we’re not removing a wild resource.
[usic intensifies, shot of Sandra Autef cutting seaweed from the seeding rope.]
Sandra Autef: My name is Sandra Autef. I’m in charge of the algoculture project at MWIFMA.
[View of gloved hands holding seaweed.]
Right now, we’re on the Nignag, the MWIFMA school boat captained by Peter Hacket.
[Shot of Sandra sitting on the edge of the boat, then shot on the face of a young learner.]
And every season, we take on board two young people from the communities that are members of MWIFMA, whom we call our learners, who are there to learn about fishing and aquaculture.
[Shot of the bow of the boat seen from behind, with two people present, then of the sea passing by.]
Jean-Philippe Hébert: Jean-Philippe Hébert, President of Fermes marines du Québec.
[Plan sur les installations intérieurs de Fermes marines du Québec.]
Fermes marines du Québec is first and foremost a hatchery.
[Shot of Jean-Philippe Hébert in work clothes in front of a basin.]
It’s used to reproduce marine organisms. We have permits for 22 species, 9 species of algae, just about every commercial product consumed in Quebec, from lobster to scallops. Our latest R&D project, and the one we’re counting on most for commercialization, is the spotted wolffish.
[Shot of spotted wolffish in the water.]
[Music intensifies.]
[Shot of Élisabeth Varennes talking to someone.]
Élisabeth Varennes: I’m Élisabeth Varennes, director and co-founder of Seabiosis.
[Shot of jars of Seabiosis products, then of Elisabeth speaking.]
We’re located in Carleton-sur-Mer, on the Gaspé Peninsula. I went to school and studied a lot about aquaculture. It’s not very well known in Quebec.
[Shot of buoys on the water, then of a woman retrieving a large cage on a boat, then of a seaweed hanging on a seeding rope.]
Even mussel aquaculture is one of the most ecologically responsible methods of animal and plant cultivation known to us.
[Exploramer logo.]
[Background music stops.]
Diversification and naming
The practice is defined as the cultivation or breeding of animals or plants in fresh, brackish or salt water.
This can be done in basins, as is often the case with fish, or in a natural environment. Farming in fresh water is called “freshwater farming”. In salt water, it is called “mariculture”.
And the name may also depend on the species.
The distinct names of cultivations, although sometimes sounding a little strange, are important because each has its own specificities and represents a special know-how in its own right.
In 2022, in the salt waters of Quebec, the species being cultivated were blue mussels, American oysters, sugar kelp, sea urchins and scallops, although these scallop farming projects were still experimental. Trials have also been carried out with spotted wolffish and various types of seaweed.
In fresh water, farming mainly involves rainbow trout, Arctic char and brook trout.
Autonomous, or not.
In aquaculture, some species require more care than others. Algae and molluscs, for example, are quite independent, feeding on nutrients in the water in the case of the former and on plankton in the case of the latter. Farmed fish, on the other hand, depend on humans for their food.
Once upon a time, there was mariculture
In the waters of the St. Lawrence, mariculture is a recent activity
Various species have been tested as potential mariculture items over the years. Some have been very successful, whereas others face a number of challenges.
1970
The Magdalen Islanders make their first attempts at cultivating blue mussels.
1984
The first commercial mussel licence is issued in the Magdalen Islands.
1987
Blue mussel cultivation extends to the Gaspésie and Côte-Nord.
1992
The first trials of cabbage (long-stem) kelp cultivation are carried out in Pointe-au-Père by the Institut national de la recherche scientifique océanologie.
1994
Scallop farming develops on the Côte-Nord.
1998
Scallop farming expands to the Magdalen Islands. In 2024, it remains experimental in Quebec’s coastal regions.
In 1998, the Magdalen Islanders also try their hand at soft-shell clam production. This is discontinued in 2013, mainly because of technological and environmental challenges.
2002
The first sea urchin cultivation permits are issued in the Bas-Saint-Laurent and Côte-Nord. By 2024, only one operation remains in Rimouski.
2006
A first marine farm begins growing algae in the Baie des Chaleurs. Since then, techniques and processes have improved, adapted to Quebec’s climate and become more profitable.
2010
In the 2010s, blue mussel production is severely affected because of sea duck predation. Several companies go out of business during the decade.
Volume of mariculture production in Quebec between 1996 and 2020
Data for 2006 to 2008 are not available.
Source: Institut de recherche en économie contemporaine, 2023.
2012
After an unsuccessful attempt in 1998, oyster farming is successfully revived. The value of Quebec mariculture production is now on the rise.
Value of mussel and oyster production in Quebec between 2009 and 2020
Source: Institut de recherche en économie contemporaine, 2023
2022
The industry represents 14 active mariculture companies and 95 jobs in Quebec.
To each their own process
The first step in operating an aquaculture site is to obtain a permit issued by MAPAQ.
Once they have acquired their permits, aquaculturists all follow the same cycle: from the birth of the species to its harvest. There is, however, one slight variation: techniques and infrastructures are adapted to the species involved.
What is integrated multitrophic aquaculture?
It is the simultaneous farming of several species, including fish, bivalves (e.g. mussels), sea cucumbers and algae. This type of culture reproduces the functioning of a small food web. Bivalves and algae benefit from fish waste, which limits pollution of the marine environment.
In Quebec, several mariculture sites have the potential to be exploited for seaweed farming.
Although the seaweed market is more developed in Asia, the purity of Canadian waters offers an advantage when it comes to the quality of the seaweed harvested. In 2018, three seaweed farms existed in Quebec, growing mainly sugar kelp.
How is rope cultivation done?
What types of algae are cultivated in Quebec?
What are the particularities of this culture?
Four algaculture experts explain.
What are the particularities of this culture?
Four algaculture experts explain.
Information
Video length: 4 minutes and 58 seconds
Location and shooting date: Gaspé Peninsula, 2022 and 2023 and Smarter seafood show, 2023
Excerpts from interviews conducted by: Jean-Sébastien Laliberté and Maylis Persoons, Exploramer museologists
Videographer and editor: Guillaume Lévesque, Les productions de la Morue Salée
Interviewees:
- Marie-Hélène Rondeau,
- Mi’gmaq Wolastoqey Indigenous Fisheries Management Association (MWIFMA)
- Sandra Autef,
- Mi’gmaq Wolastoqey Indigenous Fisheries Management Association (MWIFMA)
- Éric Tamigneaux, École des pêches et de l’aquaculture du Québec (ÉPAQ)
- Élisabeth Varennes, Seabiosis
Credit: Exploramer, 2024
Transcription
[Background music.]
[View on a panel with printing of seaweed, then on Marie-Hélène Rondeau, in front of the picture.]
Marie-Hélène Rondeau: Here you see that of Quebec’s commercial algae, the most common and popular is the sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima.
[Close-up shot of sugar kelp.]
This algae is the best known in terms of cultivation.
[Back to the picture of algae and the text describing Saccharina latissima, then the one on Alaria esculenta.]
On our aquaculture site, we also grow Atlantic wakame, also known as Alaria esculenta.
[Shot of a Wakame plant held between two hands on a beach.]
This one is super interesting in terms of texture and taste, but it’s not very well known.
[Shot of a person in a wetsuit holding a bouquet of kelp.]
So, at present, 70% of our rope-seeding is sugar kelp and 30% Atlantic wakame.
[Shot of a blade of red seaweed held between two hands.]
Otherwise, among the algae on which we’ve conducted culture tests, we have Palmaria palmata. This red seaweed is better known as dulse. It is excellent when dried.
[Shot of Marie-Hélène in front of the seaweed picture.]
And we’ve also done a few tests on our aquaculture site with this seaweed.
[Music intensifies.]
[View of the water, then of a boat captain inside the control room.]
[Shot of seaweed on seeding ropes lifted out of the water, then cut with a knife, and Sandra Autef cutting seaweed from the rope.]
Sandra Autef: The advantage of producing algae in the St. Lawrence is the speed of growth, compared with other shellfish cultures, which can take several years.
[Background music stops.]
Several studies have shown that cultivating seaweed helps limit coastal erosion.
[Shot of a coastline.]
They can also provide habitat for different species while the algae are growing there.
[Shot of the water seen from the stern of the boat.]
We’ve talked about carbon sequestration.
[View of the seeding rope hauled aboard the boat and Sandra and a man cutting seaweed.]
We’re also talking about reducing the effect of ocean acidification. There are many advantages to growing algae on a site.
[View of a notebook, then of a device held in a hand on the edge of the boat.]
[Shot of Sandra in profile.]
25.1 and 6.3.
We take salinity and temperature regularly because they’re really important parameters to monitor, and they can explain a lot about the culture in general.
[Background music resumes.]
[Shot of a seaweed seeding rope lifted from the water.]
Éric Tamigneaux: When we put the little seedlings out to sea, they have to be healthy and well attached to their seeding ropes.
[Shot of Éric Tamigneaux in videoconference.]
They need to have been force-fed nutrients to build up their reserves. At that point, what happens will depend essentially on conditions in the marine environment. So, we try to target the optimum transfer periods to put them in the sea waters. So, they are not shocked by too hot or too cold temperatures, and are not smothered by competitors. Because as soon as you put a rope or a buoy or any other object in the sea, there’s a whole host of larvae and invertebrate species looking for a home to settle on or a place to build their house.
[Shot of a seaweed rope passing through a pulley.]
And so, when we provide them with a new site that’s empty, everyone wants to settle there. So you have to avoid those periods when there are lots of invertebrate larvae. And you don’t want storms to rip off the little algae seedlings.
[Back to Éric.]
You have to keep them in good condition. Then, as they grow, they become more resistant and better attached to the rope, so there’s less and less risk of loss.
[View of a bin full of seaweed and a person standing next to it selecting one.]
Sandra: So, here we have a really fine specimen of sugar kelp. In fact, you can see that the seaweed has several parts.
[Shot of Sandra, showing the different parts of a sugar kelp.]
This here is the holdfast.
[Close-up on the holdfast, stipe and blade of the seaweed.]
In fact, it’s the part with which it attaches to its natural environment, often to rocks. In our case, it’s attached to a rope. Here we have a beautiful stipe, a bit like a branch. And we have what we call the frond, or leaf, also known as the kelp blade, so really the big frond.
[Shot of the end of the seaweed resting on the edge of the boat.]
And at the end, we often speak of the apical meristem. For us, it’s a part that’s often a bit deteriorated. So we tend to eliminate it for our food-grade products.
[Shot of Sandra holding sugar kelp.]
So, in fact, what I take to the dryer after that is really just the fronds. If I bring in 140 kg of fronds, I’ll get about 14 kg of dried product.
The stipes, in fact, we keep in collaboration with a seaweed processing company called Seabiosis. They make a kind of pickle with the stipes, so we save them for them.
[Background music intensifies.]
[Shot of a man talking in front of the Seabiosis promotional banner, then of several jars of Seabiosis in a box and of a jar of Kombu salad.]
Élisabeth Varennes: So, we have our seaweed salad. We also make marinated seaweed, because we want to make the most of the whole seaweed. So, we marinate the blades.
[Shot of Elisabeth Varennes talking.]
But also, in the product we marinate the stem, the stipe of the seaweed, which hasn’t been used until now. But with cultivation, we have the stipe, so we might as well use it. It’s one of the most eco-responsible cultivation methods, because we don’t add any fertilizers, we don’t add… It doesn’t take up land that could be used for other things.
[Shot of a seaweed seeding rope pulled from the water, then of people cutting the seaweed on the rope.]
They’re native algae that we just grow in water.
[Another view of the people cutting the seaweed and then of Sandra holding seaweed with the sun behind her.]
So it’s really, for me it’s… I’m also committed to developing algae cultivation in parallel with harvesting.
[Exploramer logo.]
[Background music stops.]
Step 1
Obtain young
seaweed shoots
There are two ways by which algae growers can source young seaweed shoots:
- Purchase young seaweed shoots attached to ropes from a hatchery.
- Produce their own seedlings from mature algae harvested in their natural environment. Once these mature algae have been harvested, seaweed growers watch over the development of the small algae on ropes. This second option requires more patience but can be less costly.
Step 2
Put the ropes
into the water
In autumn, ropes filled with young algae are placed on the cultivation sites.
They are lowered to a depth of 7 m to avoid being affected by ice during the winter.
Step 3
Seeking light
In spring, when the water warms, the ropes are raised to a depth of between 2 m and 4 m to capture all the light and nutrients needed for algae growth.
While algae grow slowly over winter, this is not the case from April to June, when they can grow up to 4 cm in a single day.
The seaweeds are attached to a guide rope. Concrete anchors hold the ropes underwater, and buoys indicate their location at the surface.
Step 4
Harvesting
In just a few months, the seaweed will reach up to 1 m in length. Quite a growth, is it not?
In June, the race against the clock begins. The algae must be collected before bryozoans spoil the crop. These small invasive invertebrates colonize the leaves of the seaweed and seriously complicate the work of cleaning them from seaweed in the processing plant.
Blue mussel farming has had its share of adventures in Quebec.
Although there were many mussel farms before the 2010s, by 2022 only four remained. Sea ducks, among others, have made short work of our beautiful mussels.
There are several possible methods for growing mussels. Here is an example of socking.
Step 1
Obtain juvenile
mussels
In spring, ropes, called collectors, are placed in the sea during the mussel reproductive period.
The newborn larvae attach themselves to the ropes and grow on them for several months. These juvenile mussels are called spat.
Step 2
Socking
In the autumn of the following year, the collectors are recovered, and the small mussels are removed.
They measure around 1 cm. They are sorted and placed in tube-shaped nets, which look like socks. This is the socking process.
Step 3
Patience
and growth
The socks are then placed at sea on ropes, between 5 and 10 m below the surface for 18 to 24 months.
However, this is not a period of rest for the mussel farmer. During this time, they give their mussels a lot of love. They watch over the mussels, clean them to keep out dirt and predators and reorganize the mussels to optimize their growth.
During the winter, the ropes can be lowered to greater depths to avoid breakage caused by ice.
The right amount of agitation
The presence of a small current will produce plump mussels, as they will filter more water and therefore more food. On the other hand, if there is too much agitation, the mussels develop a denser byssus to hold on more tightly. This will make cleaning the mussels more difficult.
The byssus, or little beard, are the adhesive filaments secreted by the mussel to enable it to attach itself to a support. They are inedible and must be removed before eating.
Step 4
Strength and
softness
When they reach 5.5 to 6 cm in length, the mussels are ready to be harvested.
The mussels are then hauled up and detached from the socks. Depending on the density of mussels, the sock can become very heavy, weighing around 30 kg. Pulling out several in succession requires a certain amount of strength.
Before being put up for sale, the mussels are brushed or simply rinsed, and the byssal threads removed.
These operations must be carried out gently, as mussel shells are fragile because of their relatively rapid growth on the ropes.
Producing healthy, tasty oysters requires special attention.
Patience is also essential, as this mollusc takes three to four years to develop before it can be marketed. However, this aspect has not prevented oysters from becoming the star species of Quebec mariculture. In 2022, seven companies were producing oysters in Quebec.
What are the steps involved in growing oysters?
How are oysters cultivated in Quebec?
What makes one oyster different from another?
Two people working in oyster farming tell us about the process and the funny little things that can happen along the way.
What makes one oyster different from another?
Two people working in oyster farming tell us about the process and the funny little things that can happen along the way.
Information
Video length: 4 minutes and 44 seconds
Location and shooting date: Magdalen Islands, 2023
Excerpts from interviews conducted by: Maylis Persoons, Exploramer museologist
Videographer and editor: Guillaume Lévesque, Les productions de la Morue Salée
Interviewees:
- Alain Longuépée, Les Cultures du Large
- Maggie, Les Cultures du Large
Credit: Exploramer, 2024
Transcription
[Background music.]
[View of the coastline, then the stern of a boat.]
Alain Longuépée: Cultures du Large is all about oyster.
[Shot of boat cabin window, then of a girl at controls at the stern of the boat.]
So we’re going to put the newborn, baby oysters straight out to sea off the islands near Baie de Plaisance, between the islands and l’Île d’Entrée.
[View of the boat’s name: Les Îles brisées par les vagues, then of a passage under a bridge, from the boat.]
Until they reach maturity, which takes about 2 1/2 to 3 years, to reach 2.5 inches. Then we take them to rest in our spa, which is at Baie du Cap-Vert, on the Fatima side, between Havre aux Maisons and Fatima.
[Shot of Alan Longuépée with a wooden pontoon and boats moored at the dock in the foggy background.]
So we take them there to rest. Then they arrive here at Pointe-Basse, in Havre aux Maisons. And there, they’re ready to be savored by the people of the islands and Quebec.
[Shot of coastline, then of a man walking in the water.]
Maggie: There, you can see, we’re arriving at the aquaculture site.
[Music stops. Various more or less close-up views of black buoys on the surface of the water.]
All the black buoys you see there, that’s all our oysters. All the cages are marked on the GPS, so thanks to the tags we have on the buoys with the number, the captain, when we drop off a cage, will immediately note it with a GPS point, with the cage number.
[Shot of a cage of oysters lifted out of the water by Maggie and a man.]
Here, in the open sea, it’s done on ropes.
[Shot of the man’s face, seen in profile.]
So we have 189 ropes and 30 to 40 cages… with over 2,000 oysters.
[Back to the shot of an oyster cage lifted out of the water and placed in the boat.]
No one has the right to fish here. We have the aquaculture license in this zone, and then it’s only us who have it. It’s a 99-year lease.
[Shot of Maggie next to the cage, then back to Alain.]
Alain: The advantage we have on the islands: the quality of the sea is excellent in terms of cleanliness. We hope this will continue in future years. There’s always a risk.
[Shot of Maggie on board the boat.]
Maggie: So here we have a commercial oyster cage. So, we put the oysters here, to start with, when we get them from New Brunswick. We put them in the bay, which is like a nursery. They’ll live here for about a season. After that, we transfer them offshore for 2 to 3 years.
[Close-up shot of the inside of an oyster cage, then of a man taking oysters from a pouch in the cage.]
Then, during those 2 or 3 years, we bring the cages back once or twice a year to sort them by size and clean the cages as well.
[Close-up of oysters, held in one hand.]
In fact, we clean the cages regularly because there are a lot of mussels here, which naturally stick to the oyster bags, and there’s algae too.
[View of the pouch put back in the cage.]
So, if we neglect to come and get them on a regular basis, well, the pores of the bags will get blocked and the oysters could die of asphyxiation.
[Shot of Maggie.]
They’ll run out of air, in fact of oxygen.
[Close-up shot of oysters, then Maggie talking to a group on board the boat.]
Also, if a grain of sand gets inside an oyster, it becomes a foreign body, and the oyster wants to protect itself. That’s when it forms a pearl.
[Music resumes. View of an open oyster, then of a woman tasting and enjoying the oyster, then of a man smelling an oyster.]
[View of gloved hands picking up and showing parts of the oyster.]
What’s nice about bringing them back once or twice a year is that when you take the oysters out of the water, it causes them stress. So that’s what’s going to cause the little notches on the shell. This will give you an oyster that’s much wider, deeper and easier to open.
[Close-up shot of gloved hands showing the outer edge of the oyster.]
Here, we can see oyster growth. The oyster grows outwards. So, it’s making its own shell. You can really see the white part, it’s… That’s its growth.
[Shot of open oyster shells with an oyster knife beside them, followed by a close-up shot of the knife engraved Trésor du Large.]
And since oysters are filter-feeding mollusks, they really take on the taste of their environment. That’s why there are so many varieties of oysters.
[Shot of a blue building by the sea, a parking lot and boats out of the water.]
The variety is the name the producer gives its oysters.
[Shot of oyster sorting and measuring, done by hand.]
So, there’s also the farming method, which will change the oyster’s shell, which will change the color, which will change lots of things.
[Shot of a pallet of wooden crates filled with oysters, then of someone sealing the crates, and finally a close-up of the Trésor du Large crate logo.]
Alain: You can see all the love, time and attention that goes into the oysters.
[Shot of Alain on the wooden pontoon, then of Maggie talking.]
Until it’s on the shelves or people can taste it. It’s really exciting.
[View of a group of people through the window of the boat, then of the cages on board, the oysters and finally, an open oyster.]
[Exploramer logo.]
[Background music stops.]
Step 1
Obtain juvenile
oysters
Every year, oyster farmers have to stock up on spat.
There are two ways of doing this:
- Obtain them from their natural environment, using lime-coated tiles called collectors, on which the oyster larvae settle and grow. This option is not widely used in Quebec waters, as climate conditions limit the natural reproduction of oysters;
- Buy them from a hatchery. In 2023, as there are no oyster nurseries in Quebec, oyster farmers generally turn to those in the Maritime Provinces.
Once the juvenile oysters have been acquired, oyster farmers grow them by placing them at sea, in floating bags or cages large enough to allow the oysters to grow.
Step 2
Growing fine
oysters
As oysters need their own space to thrive, they are transferred to larger bags after a year’s growth.
These bags are placed on the farming site, which is rich in plankton and therefore in food.
At this stage, the bags are regularly turned to remove biofouling. The oysters are also periodically sorted and reorganized to promote healthy and homogeneous growth.
Step 3
Sort, hibernate
and start again
Oysters do not all grow at the same rate.
In spring and summer, the oyster farmer sorts their oysters by size.
Around October, as winter approaches, the bags cannot stay on the surface because of forming ice. The oysters are transferred to larger “growing bags” and are placed on the sea bottom until spring.
This process is repeated for a period of two to four years.
Fragile little creatures
In winter, when water temperatures drop below 4 °C, the oysters’ metabolism slows down. They stop filtering water and feeding. However, do not panic; they can live for quite a long time in these conditions.
On the other hand, if the oyster bags are brought up too early in the spring, when the surface water is still freezing, the stress suffered by these little creatures would be too great for them to recover.
Step 4
Harvest, clean
and pamper
Whether cocktail, deluxe, normal or commercial, once the sale size has been reached, the oysters can be harvested and sorted one last time.
Before being sold, they are cleaned to remove barnacles, algae and other organisms stuck to their shells. This involves a lot of delicate handling. Remember, this is a live animal, right up to the point of consumption.
With their fine, slightly less iodized taste, cocktail oysters are perfect as an appetizer.
Deluxe oysters are of the highest quality. They have a firmer texture. They are cultivated respecting nature’s cycle and are therefore not available all year round.
Normal oysters are slightly less fleshy than deluxe oysters. Their size is optimal for eating in one bite.
Commercial oysters are flatter and larger, so mouthing them requires a little more practice.
Deluxe oysters are of the highest quality. They have a firmer texture. They are cultivated respecting nature’s cycle and are therefore not available all year round.
Normal oysters are slightly less fleshy than deluxe oysters. Their size is optimal for eating in one bite.
Commercial oysters are flatter and larger, so mouthing them requires a little more practice.
Fish farming boomed in the 1980s and 1990s.
In the 2000s, given environmental concerns, stricter regulations were introduced, reducing the number of operations. In 2017, there were 87 in Quebec, of which around 30 managed to make a living exclusively from fish farming.
In Quebec, this type of farming takes place in fresh water, in basins or ponds. Like other types of cultivation, it begins with the birth of the species.
The fish farmer can purchase fish eggs from external sources or have their own breeding stock and produce eggs in their own facility.
The fish are then nurtured and cared for until they reach the desired size for sale.
In Quebec, fish farming is mainly dedicated to the food industry or to replenishing natural environments and fishing ponds.
The difficulties encountered by mariculturists, such as the time it takes to set up or the vulnerability to natural disasters, make this a complex practice. However, it is one of the most sustainable know-hows.
To continue enjoying these incredible products for years to come, a few rules are essential…
