Cascade Aqua Farms Arctic Char

Based in Washington State, Cascade Aqua Farms has been a FishWise producer partner since 2006 and specializes in producing restaurant quality Arctic char that have never been treated with chemicals or antibiotics. When raised in the U.S. with land-based, flow-through systems, Arctic char are rated “Green-Best Choice” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Cascade Aqua Farms now has large quantities of 4-6 lb. fish available for the California region and can be acquired through Santa Monica Seafood, Royal Hawaiian Seafood, and Ports Seafood. For other U.S. regions, contact Cascade Aqua Farms here.

Often compared with salmon or trout, Arctic Char is a unique fish, with delicate, light pink flesh. Its texture is very tender and has an elegant, mildly sweet flavor. Arctic char from Cascade Aqua Farms is excellent for sashimi because of its texture and taste but equally impressive when grilled, baked, seared, poached or smoked.

Arctic char is more mild than salmon. Its meat is fattier and more moist than salmon, having 7.9 grams of fat per serving which provides 1 gram of Omega-3 fatty acid. Though often compared to salmon or trout, Arctic Char has its own distinctive qualities:

• Delicate, light pink flesh
• Mild, buttery, sweet flavor
• Rich source of omega-3 fatty acids

Arctic char are native to the sub-polar lakes surrounding the Arctic Circle and can only survive in unspoiled, naturally cold water. Cascade Aqua Farms uses the pristine, natural cold waters from snowmelt high in the Cascade Mountains in a land-based, flow-through growing system to replicate their natural environment. Starting with fingerlings they have bred themselves, the char are placed into ozone-treated growing water to eliminate any algae or other contaminant that could produce off-flavor. Once fully grown, the char are harvested using stunning technology to eliminate stress, bled to enhance flavor, dipped into ice slurry to cool down, and then loaded into iced totes for processing and shipment in Tacoma.

Cascade Aqua Farms has the capacity to produce 800-900 thousand pounds of Arctic char per year and therefore primarily sell to wholesalers. Product forms are whole dressed fish and fillets with two sizes at harvest: 3-4 pound dressed fish that produce a 16-19 oz. fillet, and 4-6 pound dressed fish that produce a 19-29 oz. fillet. Cascade Aqua Farms takes orders every Monday &Thursday morning, shipping twice a week. If you would like to learn more about Cascade Aqua Farms and the fantastic Arctic char they produce, please contact Brian Mencke through his website.