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ShanDaph Aquaculture is hiring summer students!
ShanDaph Aquaculture is an environmentally sustainable, organic aquaculture operation, located in Big Island, Nova Scotia.
The boutique operation grows primarily oysters, as well as bay scallops and quahogs, in the Northumberland Strait waters of Atlantic Canada. ShanDaph Oysters focuses on providing consistently high quality, fresh shellfish. Only the plumpest, tastiest shellfish with consistent size and shape are harvested for an exciting gourmet experience.
ShanDaph promotes environmentally sound practices. Shellfish are grown from seed and harvested in a natural setting. They are packaged onsite in a Federally-registered, solar-powered facility, the only one in Atlantic Canada.
ShanDaph is hiring one co-op student, and one CLEAN Leadership summer intern!
TO APPLY: Please send a resume and coverletter to philip@shandaph.com or apply at www.cleanleadership.ca
DEADLINE MARCH 17, 2019
Shellfish farm Technician – Co-op placement
Terms of Employment
16 week co-op placement, 40 hours a week, $15/hour
Work Conditions
Fast-paced environment, physically demanding, working outdoors most of the day
Work Location:
Big Island, Nova Scotia at our Shellfish Aquaculture site
Job Brief:
We are looking for an enthusiastic, responsible, and hard-working individual to fill the position of Shellfish Farm Technician. The position will entail full time hours working on site, at one of our two aquaculture leases, working within our federally registered shellfish processing facility, reporting on and measuring the effectiveness of new technologies and processes for a shellfish husbandry.
- This position will entail a keen willingness to be outdoors, on the water, and involved in all aspects of shellfish husbandry, harvesting and processing;
- The incumbent will be required to swim for shellfish, harvest from a boat, de-foul shellfish, sort, tumbling and grading oysters.
- The husbandry component involves managing various shellfish grow out apparatus and determining best husbandry practice for optimal growth;
- The position will assist in measuring the effectiveness of new technologies for shellfish husbandry, including data collection and qualitative research and reporting;
- Data collection for various environmental monitoring for temperature, salinity measurements, turbidity;
- The incumbent, based on skill set will be required to design and repair husbandry and growth equipment as required;
- A willingness to adjust weekly work hours based on the tides and activities being carried out on the farm.
Background and Qualifications
- Student in the field of marine Biology, Environmental engineering, Environmental Resource Management or other such field.
- The ability to be outdoors in a wet environment, for most of the day.
- A Canadian boating license, or equivalent.
- First aid certificate (long course).
- An independent worker who can autonomously complete tasks.
- Technical capacity and experience in design, prototyping and build out new equipment. CAD experience at asset.
** Farm is located in a rural area, personal transportation to and from farm will be needed. (You will need a car.)
Shellfish farm Technician – CLEAN Leadership
Terms of Employment
16 week placement, 40 hours a week, $14/hour
Work Conditions
Fast-paced environment, physically demanding, working outdoors most of the day
Work Location:
Big Island, Nova Scotia at our Shellfish Aquaculture site
Job Brief:
We are looking for an enthusiastic, responsible, and hard-working individual to fill the position of Shellfish Farm Technician. The position will entail full time hours working on site, at one of our two aquaculture leases, working within our federally registered shellfish processing facility, reporting on and measuring the effectiveness of new technologies and processes for a shellfish husbandry.
- This position will entail a keen willingness to be outdoors, on the water, and involved in all aspects of shellfish husbandry, harvesting and processing;
- The incumbent will be required to swim for shellfish, harvest from a boat, de-foul shellfish, sort, tumbling and grading oysters;
- The husbandry component involves managing various shellfish grow out apparatus and determining best husbandry practice for optimal growth;
- The position will assist in measuring the effectiveness of new technologies for shellfish husbandry, including data collection and qualitative research and reporting;
- Data collection for various environmental monitoring for temperature, salinity measurements, turbidity;
- The incumbent, based on skill set will be required to design and repair husbandry and growth equipment as required;
- A willingness to adjust weekly work hours based on the tides and activities being carried out on the farm.
Background and Qualifications
- Student in the field of marine Biology, Environmental engineering, Environmental Resource Management or other such field.
- The ability to be outdoors in a wet environment, for most of the day.
- A Canadian boating license, or equivalent.
- First aid certificate (long course).
- An independent worker who can autonomously complete tasks.
- Technical capacity and experience in design, prototyping and build out new equipment. CAD experience at asset.
** Farm is located in a rural area, personal transportation to and from farm will be needed. (You will need a car.)
We’re hiring a CLEAN Leadership Summer Intern!
As the shape of the job market changes and the demand for innovation increases, Nova Scotia needs youth who are literate in environmental and sustainability issues and jobs that thrive in a low-carbon economy. Clean Foundation is helping youth develop a career path focused on this by providing them with the resources and tools to move confidently into the workforce as skilled, knowledgeable leaders.
How? Through the innovative Clean Leadership summer program. Clean Leadership is a sustainability-focused youth employment program that has produced thousands of graduates over its decades-long lifespan who are committed environmental leaders.
We’re proud to be participating this summer as host employer, and we’re excited to hire our summer intern who will be joining our team as a Sustainable Seafood Intern.
Summary of Position
The community partner for this Summer Student Intern position through the Clean Leadership program will be Afishionado Fishmongers, reporting to Laurie Starr. In this position, you will be mainly responsible for assisting with day to day logistics of the Warehouse Market, a bustling farmer’s market, food hub, and logistical HQ for Afishionado Fishmongers, located in the heart of Halifax’s North End. A typical day may involve assisting with setting up the farmers’ market, interacting with clients to provide information on the sustainability of seafood, helping pack wholesale orders, communicating with the Afishionado driver and partner courier companies to get orders on the road, engaging and completing sales, diving into the literature of seafood sustainability, and jumping in to assist with deliveries where required.
This is seafood sustainability in action. As a sustainable seafood social enterprise, Afishionado is actively disrupting the unsustainable commodity market by providing high-value alternative markets for small-scale community-based seafood harvesters. As an Afishionado intern, your actions directly contribute to the building of a seafood movement in Halifax and beyond that promotes seafood sustainability, traceability, transparency, and the story of where our seafood comes from.
The successful candidate should have a keen interest in the local and sustainable food and seafood movement, and be motivated to apply concepts of sustainability into practical projects by interacting with resources, food products, clients, and customers on a day-to-day basis. The candidate should have an insatiable appetite for staying on top of the most up-to-date seafood sustainability reports, be comfortable with task management and prioritization, deal with a wide variety of constantly shifting responsibilities, be a self-starter not afraid to take action where required, and be extremely comfortable dealing directly with the public.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Assist with the management of the Warehouse Market farmers’ market on a day-to-day basis, including interacting with the public, engaging in sales, and maintaining appropriate stock levels;
- Deliver seafood to restaurants in Annapolis Valley and the South Shore
- Take and record orders when necessary or direct wholesale customers to our wholesale manager;
- Organize and dispatch orders outside of the HRM through our Courier partners;
- Deal directly with the public and customers at the Warehouse farmer’s market;
- Collect payments and invoice from mobile device at the Warehouse farmer’s market;
- Inform customers about new products and services;
- Research and learn detailed information about the goods and services provided by Afishionado, including up to date reports on their sustainability;
- Direct feedback and questions to supervisors, as needed, and resolve complaints where possible;
- Load, unload, prepare, inspect and operate delivery van where required;
- Participate in public events and expos as a front line Afishionado representative;
- Work with supervisor to determine a project subject, culminating in a final project report in August;
- Participate in two sustainable seafood reviews to ensure continued improvement of knowledge related to seafood sustainability;
- Other tasks that may be assigned by Afishionado as required.
Requirements/Qualifications
Specific requirements and minimum qualifications required to successfully perform the job. These are the qualifications that are necessary for someone to be considered for the position.
- Must be a Canadian citizen or legally entitled to work in Canada;
- Must be between the ages of 18 and 30;
- Must be a full-time student and intending to return to school in fall 2019;
- Is not a member of immediate family of community partner;
- Have an aptitude for safe work practices and the ability to multi-task in a busy work environment;
- Be able to work productively as part of a team while responding to feedback;
- Demonstrates interest in future employment in the environmental or ‘green’ sector is considered an asset;
- Valid driver’s license and clean driving record. Must have been driving for 3+ years;
- Regular driving experience, with previous insurance;
- Restaurant/Retail or food service experience;
- Capacity to use Excel, Word and basic software set up functions, data entry;
- Excellent organizational and time management skills;
- Basic math skills;
- Excellent oral and written communication skills by telephone, in written form, e-mail, in person and text;
- Excellent interpersonal skills;
- Ability to work autonomously
Working Conditions / Physical Requirements
- Ability to safely and legally operate a motor vehicle, with a full license;
- Ability to lift 45 lbs
Apply Now
Send your cover letter and CV to hello@afishionado.ca
Deadline March 15
Know Your Tuna
When you think ‘tuna’, what comes to mind? Likely flakey fish in a can or mom’s tuna salad sandwiches. At Afishionado, we want you to know that tuna are wonderfully diverse. There are 15 different species of tuna. Tuna are truly extraordinary; some species can swim as fast as 75km/hr and migrate thousands of kilometres every year. I once showed a friend a photo of a 700 pound tuna caught off the coast of Nova Scotia and was surprised to hear “THAT’S A TUNA?!, I thought they were small!”. Nope, weights range from 73lbs in Skipjack Tuna 1472lbs in Bluefin. They’re big, bold and beautiful!
Unfortunately, tuna harvested for consumption are often caught unsustainably. One of the most common capture methods is by using a purse seine net, where two boats use a net to encircle an entire group of fish, catching everything in the area. Another method involves floating lines that trail with thousands of baited hooks, also known as longlining. Both of these methods catch massive amounts of fish at once, even fish other than the target species. The non-target species caught in a fishery are called “bycatch”. In the case of tuna fisheries, common bycatch includes other large fish species, like sharks, and sea turtles.
At Afishionado, we only sell tuna caught from healthy stocks by surface trolling, where there is no significant damage to other species or young tuna populations. Catching younger tuna can devastate populations in mass scale fisheries, by removing a generation before they are able to reproduce. We also sell tuna that has been caught as bycatch. Bycatch is an unfortunate reality in many fisheries. However, dealing with tuna caught as bycatch helps us to gain momentum in the industry, so that we can make a larger impact towards increasing the sustainability of fisheries.
If you’re looking for an oppor-tuna-ty for culinary delight, the most commonly consumed species are yellowfin, skipjack, albacore, bigeye and unfortunately, bluefin, which is endangered. Here’s some information to help you get to know each species in more detail:
1. Skipjack Tuna
Katsuwonus pelamis
Characteristics
- Live up to 4 years
- Grow up to 3.5′ long
- Weigh up to 73lbs
Food Uses
- Canned
FYI
- Skipjack are a smaller tuna and is typically canned. So when you’re thinking ‘mom’s tuna sandwiches’, this is your guy!
2. Yellowfin Tuna
Thunnus albacares
Characteristics
- Live up to 7 years
- Grow up to 6.7′ long
- Weigh up to 427lbs
Food Uses
- Steaks
- Saku Blocks
FYI
- Yellowfin is one of Afishionados most popular tuna products, sold as steaks (pictured above) and saku blocks.
- Our Yellowfin comes from ANOVA Seafood and an Indonesian fishery that is part of the Living & Fishing This project was established by ANOVA, in cooperation with NGOs and aims to improve fisheries management. The main objective is to increase the capacity of the fishing communities involved, preserving their traditional livelihood and to keep Yellowfin populations healthy. This yellowfin is caught using a handline. Handline fishing has almost no bycatch and low environmental impact.
3. Albacore Tuna
Thunnus alaunga
Characteristics
- Live up to 7 years
- Grow up to 4.3′ long
- Weigh up to 88lbs
Food Uses
- Canned
- Steaks
FYI
- Albacore is another one of Afishionados most popular tuna products. Our Albacore loins come from Organic Ocean, a West Coast company established by independent fishermen looking to strike a balance between their traditional way of life and fisheries impacts.
- These tuna are caught off the coast of Haida Gwaii, from healthy, well-managed populations.
- Albacore has the highest level of Omega-3 fatty acids of all tunas and is considered to have a more delicate and melt-in-the-mouth flavour than other tunas.
4. Bigeye Tuna
Thunnus obesus
Characteristics
- Live up to 10 years
- Grow up to 7.5′ long
- Weigh up to 462lbs
Food Uses
- Steaks
- Sushi
FYI
- Bigeye has similar qualities as Yellowfin and Albacore, but they can grow much larger! Bigeye tuna steaks were featured in a September 2017 Catch of the Week. However, Afishionado only deals with Bigeye tuna caught as bycatch at this time.
5. Bluefin Tuna
Thunnus thynnus
Characteristics
- Live up to 15 years
- Grow up to 9.8′ long
- Weigh up to 1472lbs
Food Uses
- Sushi
FYI
- Bluefin tuna are without a doubt, the king of all tunas. They swim the fastest and travel the furthest, and thus are appropriately nicknamed “The Ferraris of the Ocean”
- Unfortunately, these giants are endangered. Poor fisheries management has led to years of unsustainable quota, causing a significant depletion of stocks. The high value of this fish may contribute to inefficient fisheries management; some are sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars!
- We want you to recognize the beauty of the Bluefin, but please don’t eat them in your sushi!
Soothing the Fear of Farmed Fish
Do you eat meat? If you do, it’s more than likely been farmed, and highly unlikely that it’s been exclusively hunted from the wild. Most meat eaters can tell you that how farmed meat is grown has all sorts of differences, from its taste to its environmental impact. That’s why we find it particularly peculiar that many seafood consumers still have a steadfast fear of farmed fish. Just as all farmed meats aren’t equal, the same can be said for farmed seafood. We’re here to soothe your qualms and give you a little food for thought.
First and foremost, at Afishionado we absolutely appreciate and encourage scrutinous food purchasing behaviours! Perhaps you only buy a certain type of farmed meat—maybe pasture raised beef or free-range chicken. Maybe you take the time to make sure your eggs are cage-free, and maybe only the freshest spring lamb will do for you! You might go to leaps and bounds to avoid eating beef sourced from a confirmed animal feedlot operation, and perhaps you’d scoff at the idea of eating chicken raised in battery cages. Yet it’s still farmed meat—it’s just that you’ve chosen a specific method of farming that you prefer for sustainability or quality reasons or both.
The initial aversion to farmed seafood is often well deserved. There are many unsustainable large volumes, low-value aquaculture methods that pump low quality farmed seafood into the marketplace while having a huge environmental impact. Yet farmed seafood is far from a catch-all term. There is a distinct difference in quality, texture, taste, depending on how a species was grown. And there is a huge difference in sustainability. There are many different ways to raise a fish, and the resulting products are vastly different.
Just as pasture-raised grass-fed beef might taste different and have a different texture than an animal that was fed an unnatural diet of corn, soy, and grains, an Atlantic Salmon grown in a recirculating closed containment aquaculture facility, fed a diet comprised of sustainably sourced wild marine protein and fish oils, will certainly taste different than an open-net pen-raised Atlantic Salmon that was fed cheap feed comprised of corn and chicken by-products. Responsibly grown seafood can taste absolutely delicious.
Despite all of this, some folks are just deadset on wild seafood. It’s wild or nothing. We agree that a wild Atlantic Salmon definitely tastes different than a farmed one. It’s also a given that the modern-day chicken doesn’t taste like wild partridge or guinea fowl. Domesticated mutton and lamb don’t taste like wild bighorn sheep. We still find farm raised meats to be delicious, or we wouldn’t eat them. And farmed seafood can be a culinary delight as well.
Wild seafood is incredible, and if responsibly fished, a sustainable source of nutrition that can sustain consumers and coastal communities for generations to come. But we can’t—and shouldn’t—all eat wild seafood exclusively. We can—and should—celebrate those pioneering individuals and enterprises that are taking a stand against large-scale aquaculture, who take the time to raise delicious seafood responsibly. Together, sustainable aquaculture and sustainable fishing can make our seafood supply chain resilient and diverse for now and generations to come. Our eating decisions directly impact the future of seafood.
by Justin Cantafio, Sustainable Seafood Specialist
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
Halifax Oyster Festival September 2017
Hello,
Afishionado Fishmongers is looking for volunteers for the Halifax Oyster Festival to help shuck and schlep. If you are interested in participating we would love to have you. Please feel free to contact us if you have any question or just fill your information below.
Would you like to volunteer with us? E-mail hello@afishionado.ca or choose your suitable session for volunteering to help us shuck!
Friday night session volunteer: click HERE.
Saturday afternoon session volunteer: click HERE.
Saturday night session volunteer: click HERE.
For more information about Halifax Oyster Festival and to buy tickets click HERE.
Paul Greenberg talks in Halifax
Afishionado Fishmongers is sponsoring Paul Greenberg to come to Halifax. Paul Greenberg is a best-selling American author, whose 2010 book Four Fish became a must-read on seafood sustainability, drawing widespread praise and winning the James Beard writing and literature award. 2014’s follow-up American Catch examines the paradox of the US importing more than 85% of its seafood despite controlling more ocean than any country. His 2015 TED Talk discusses the irrationality of today’s seafood economy, receiving over 1.5 million views. His 2017 acclaimed documentary The Fish on my Plate highlights his year-long self-experiment eating fish with every meal to determine “What fish should I eat that’s good for me and good for the planet?”. Greenberg is a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow, a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, and a W. K. Kellogg Foundation Food and Society Policy Fellow. More about Paul Greenberg, click HERE
About the Event:
Where: Ondaatje Hall, 6135 University Avenue, Marion McCain Arts & Social Sciences building.
Date & Time: Thursday, Sep 14th, 7:00 pm
Sponsored by:
The proper way to store fish and shellfish
We often receive questions about the best way to store seafood. Proper food handling is extremely important for guaranteeing quality and safety and is paramount for seafood because it’s often more perishable than other foods. Spoilage can happen quickly. Enzymes within seafood flesh kick start the decaying process, which is further helped by naturally occurring microorganisms. Knowing the best ways to safely store seafood can help to make it last longer, taste its best, and limit any risk of illness!
Ideally, fresh fish and shellfish should be kept between 1.5 to 2˚C. For fresh seafood, make sure you never go under 0˚C or over 4˚C! Check your fridge temperature. You might need to consider turning your fridge temperature down to maximize seafood freshness, but make sure it’s not too cold for other fresh products such as fruits and vegetables. The lucky folks among us will have a separate compartment with a colder setting, but regardless, the following information will let you know how long your catch will last and the best ways to store it:
Fresh and Frozen Fish
Most sources such as Health Canada recommend that you consume fresh fish within two days of purchase. However, this time varies depending on how fresh the fish really is. Fish could last for up to four or more days after purchase. When purchasing with from your local fishmonger, the best way to be sure is to just ask what they recommend! A good fishmonger will know when your fish was harvested and how long it’ll last under ideal conditions. Alternatively, when purchasing from grocery stores there is often a best before the date that should be followed.
If you can’t consume your fresh fish in time, freezing is a great option to prolong freshness. Your fish should be packaged so that there is little to no air left ꟷ vacuum packing works wonders ꟷ but if you don’t have one, squeezing as much air out as possible will do the trick. Another option is to fill a container with cold seawater or salted water and place the portions of fish in there to freeze. Take note that fish fattier fish like salmon and mackerel can’t be stored as long as those with little fat such as cod or hake. As a rule of thumb, fattier fish can remain in the freezer for up to 3 months, while low-fat fish can be stored for up to 6 months – in your home freezer. When fish has been stored in a commercial or industrial freezer, it is generally good up to 2 years from being packed!
Fresh and Frozen Shellfish
Fresh live shellfish should be stored in the refrigerator in a bowl with a damp cloth or paper towel over top. Any live product should never be stored while submerged in water or sealed in air-tight containers or bags because they’ll soon perish from lack of oxygen! Also, be sure to empty any water that accumulates at the bottom of the bowl ꟷ this is particularly common in mussels as they release a lot of water.
The freshness and quality of your shellfish will depend on how long it can be stored in the fridge. Health Canada suggests that all shellfish be consumed within three days, however, when bought fresh and local from fishmongers like us, we can recommend up to a week for mussels and clams, and up to three weeks for oysters! For fresh scallops and shrimp, we suggest no more than two days.
Whether you have leftovers or just want to save some of your shellfish for later, we recommend you cook your shellfish, or you can remove the meat and store in a freezer bag or container submerged in a brine solution or the cooled liquid that it was cooked in. For oysters specifically, it’s best to shuck the oysters and save the liquid to cover the oysters in. Below are some suggested freezer storing times:
- Lobster – 3-4 months
- Scallops – 6 months
- Mussels – 3-4 months
- Clams – 3-4 months
- Oysters – 4-6 months
- Shrimp – 4-6 months
As always, if you ever have any seafood related questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us through our website, or to come have a chat with us in person at the Warehouse at 2867 Isleville Street in Halifax’s North End on Thursdays and Fridays from 11 to 7, during the market day,ans Saturdays from 9-1.
Fresh vs. Frozen – Which is better?
The classic fresh versus frozen debate has taken the world of seafood by storm for decades. In the past, fresh seafood dominated mainly due to frozen seafood—often in the form of mushy fish sticks—having such a poor reputation in the public eye. We think it’s time to debunk the myth and celebrate frozen seafood for its many qualities.
While fresh seafood straight off the boat is undoubtedly top quality, consumers rarely have the opportunity to eat such a luxury. The rise of globalization has led to a large amount of seafood imports here in Atlantic Canada, and fresh seafood may not be as fresh as you think, especially once it’s traveled thousands of miles just to get to your plate. Much of the seafood we consume has actually been imported, and freezing is critical to ensuring freshness. In fact, when seafood is immediately flash frozen—a type of freezing where seafood is frozen between -40˚C to -60˚C degrees extremely quickly—it stays much fresher for much longer. And frozen seafood can be more environmentally friendly, since fresh fish is often shipped by air, requiring more energy than frozen fish, which can travel by boat, rail, or truck.
When you purchase frozen product instead of fresh from small-scale operations you help to support the fishermen and relieve the pressure they face to deliver fresh product immediately after it was caught. Additionally, frozen portions allow consumers to take only what they need from their freezer, and reduce the amount of waste produced in households. Imagine trying to consume this whole Yellowfin Tuna before it goes bad!
Afishionado sources sustainable handline-caught Yellowfin Tuna from Vietnam and Indonesia that come in convenient eight ounces portioned Saku blocks and steaks, loins, ground meat, or poke pieces. Click to check them out. Frozen seafood is often more affordable than its fresh counterpart and it can be consumed all year long!
Much of the debate between fresh and frozen has also been on the health and nutritional differences between the two. Many people believe that frozen seafood is a lot less nutritionally dense than fresh. The truth is that this difference is minimal. While the water released during thawing does contain some nutrients when thawing is done correctly and if the seafood has been frozen immediately after harvest there, is barely any loss at all. And frozen is often safer to eat because the freezing process kills harmful bacteria!
So yes, if you are living close to the shore and have access to fresh fish that is in season and locally caught, then fresh may be a good option for you, but in all other situations, we feel that frozen can often be a better option.
FROZEN PRODUCT 101
A couple tips for ensuring your frozen fish is as fresh and as tasty as possible:
- Defrost fish in the refrigerator or in a cold-water bath – do not place in warm water as it will impact the texture of the fish.
- Avoid refreezing fish once it has thawed. From a safety perspective, this is okay to do, but it will comprise the texture of the fish.
- Know where your seafood is coming from to ensure it has been frozen correctly.