Gold River, B.C. (July 22, 2013) — Beginning July 22nd, Skuna Bay, Vancouver Island Craft Raised Salmon will be available to the New England region with its expansion to Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Skuna Bay Salmon is excited to welcome seafood experts Ipswich Shellfish Company to its team of exclusive distributor partners. Ipswich was selected as exclusive distributing partner in their area for their reputation for quality, sustainable sourcing and outstanding cold chain.

“Our passion is to consistently provide the great chefs of America with great salmon so their customers always have a fantastic salmon dining experience ,” says Dave Mergle, Director for Skuna Bay. “We are excited to expand to the region where seafood has long been part of the cultural fabric – the region of New England where we think chefs will appreciate the attention to detail we put into getting them great 10 lb salmon year round.”

Skuna Bay Salmon is reared in pristine, glacier-fed waters off the coast of Vancouver Island, B.C. by a dedicated, passionate team of Craftsmen Farmers. North America’s only Craft Raised salmon’s rise in popularity began with its launch in the Southwest region of the United States in November of 2011, and has now been served at more than 1,400 high-end restaurants and boutique retailers across 31 states and major urban markets including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Seattle and Minneapolis . Adding New England brings availability of Skuna Bay to a total of 35 U.S. states.

“We pride ourselves on providing chefs with only the highest-quality seafood,” says Mike Trupiano , General Manager of Ipswich Shellfish Co.

Ipswich Director of Sustainability Christian Callahan said “We are very happy to be adding Skuna Bay’s Salmon to our strong portfolio of high quality seafood and continue to support those who harvest and raise their fish responsibly. In Skuna Bay we are excited to be supporting farmers who have demonstrated incredibly high standards and an unparalleled attention to detail – and who spend their lives raising salmon the right way. We were impressed by their commitment to doing everything the right way.”

“Our newest partner Ipswich Shellfish Co. joins our outstanding team of exclusive distributor partners who play a major role in ensuring that great chefs get that same ‘fresh from the ocean’ experience everytime,” notes Mergle. “Our Craftsman Farmers have spent 3 years raising their salmon, so it is up to us to do their effort justice by handling them with the same care and attention. We have pioneered a unique and exclusive method of inspecting, selecting, preparing and packing our salmon and we take the same approach in selecting our distributor partners – we partner with them because they are the best.”

To date, Skuna Bay Salmon is advocated by well-known chefs from across America including Dan Kluger of ABC Kitchen in New York City, Stephanie Izard of Girl & the Goat in Chicago, Jennifer Jasinski of Rioja in Denver, Ed Brown of Ed’s Chowderhouse in New York and Randy Waidner, Executive Chef for Gibsons in Chicago. Recently Skuna Bay was selected as Salmon of Choice by the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs and was named House Purveyor of Salmon to the James Beard House. For more information, please visit www.SkunaSalmon.com. Follow Skuna Bay on Twitter at @SkunaBay.