Harvested from Grieg Seafoods’ Concepcion Sea Farm in Nootka Sound, Chef Louis Simard of Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa prepared a perfect Skuna Bay Salmon tartar for Head of State Dinner on Monday, June 9, 2014

Gold River, B.C. (June 10, 2014) — The Craftsman Farmers of Skuna Bay proudly provided their best Skuna Bay Salmon for an official Canada Head of State dinner at Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa on Monday. Chef Louis Simard, Executive Chef at the reknowned hotel, expertly prepared a tartar for the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, Mrs. Laureen Harper and the Honourable Tony Abbott, Prime Minister of Australia.

The salmon selected for this special dinner were 10-12 pound farmed Atlantic salmon from the Concepcion sea farms in Nootka Sound, off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Head Farmer Steve Munro oversaw the harvest to ensure his fish were carefully handled during the process.

Said Steve, “we timed the harvest carefully, as we always do with our salmon, to make sure the fish were in the seine pocket no longer than 45 minutes. This protects our fish from fatigue and stress. The harvest went perfectly and we all knew that we had done our best.”

The fish were then transferred to Salmon Experts at Walcan Seafods on Quadra Island for the special inspection, selection, hand cleaning and ice packing. Cam Pirie, General Manager and member of Walcan’s family ownership noted, “we had no problem getting the best fish for Prime Minister Harper – there were plenty to choose from – but just in case, I was on the floor overseeing the selection and packing. When it was done we packed the salmon bellies with ice, sealed up the box with tamper proof tape and our Salmon Expert Gary signed and dated the label. We expected the salmon to arrive in perfect condition.”

Said Chef Louis Simard, “I opened the boxes at 8 am once I arrived at the hotel. The Health Canada inspector (since it’s to be served for a dignitary official visit) was here to witness the handling of the opening of the packaging. The inspector was quite impressed with the packaging, the quality and the condition of the fish! To say the least, so was I! Salmon was perfect. The quality of the fish was fantastic.”

Local Seafood Distributor and Skuna Bay Salmon partner Albion Fisheries helped arrange logistics for this important shipment to Ottawa and ensured it arrived in a timely fashion.

In the past Skuna Bay Salmon has been served to President Barack Obama at an Inauguration Dinner in January, 2013 and was selected by the Kentucky Derby as the Salmon of Choice at this year’s 140th race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Since November of 2011 Skuna Bay, Vancouver Island Craft Raised Salmon has been used by James Beard Award Winning Chefs, served at the US Open Tennis Tournament and enjoyed by diners across North America.