SALMON FROM JAPAN 

IN THE NEAR FUTURE FOOD MAY LOOK FAMILIAR BUT THE SOURCES FROM WHICH IT SPRINGS WILL HAVE CHANGED RADICALLY.

LET'S TAKE SALMON AND SHELLFISH AS EXAMPLES.

WITHIN FIVE YEARS CANADIANS WILL BE EATING BETTER QUALITY SALMON. IT WILL BE LOWER IN PRICE AND IT WILL BE JAPANESE !! THE STORY WILL BE THE SAME WITH LOBSTER AND ABALONE EXCEPT THE LATTER WILL BE PRODUCED IN NORTH AMERICA.

ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO THE JAPANESE ANNOUNCED THAT THEY HAD RAISED THE KING (COHO) SALMON FOR THE FIRST TIME IN CAPTIVITY. THIS WAS NO IDLE FEAT. YEARS AGO THEY HAD TRIED THE SAME EXPERIMENTS WITH DEVASTATING RESULTS. HALF THE FISH DIED. NOW THEY HAVE SUCCEEDED BY THINKING DIFFERENTLY AND UTILIZING UNCONVENTIONAL METHODS.

AS ALMOST ANY SCHOOLCHILD KNOWS, SALMON BREED IN FRESH WATER, SPAWN THEIR EGGS UP RIVER AND THEN DIE. WHEN HATCHED THE NEW FRY SPEND ABOUT A YEAR IN THEIR FRESH WATER HABITAT THEN RETURN TO THE SEA FOR THEIR GROWTH CYCLE, WHICH VARIES DEPENDING ON SPECIES.

WE THEN TRY TO CATCH THEM ON THEIR RETURN TO SPAWN. WE USE FISHING BOATS IN ROUGH AND DANGEROUS WATERS, EXPENSIVE NETTING TECHNIQUES AND LOTS OF GASOLINE. LET'S FACE IT: IT ISN'T COST EFFICIENT. IN MANY WAYS IT IS SYMBOLICALLY LIKE THE DAYS WHEN MACHO MAN HUNTED BUFFALO. AND, AS WITH THE BUFFALO SUCH METHODS RAPIDLY DEPLETED AVAILABLE RESOURCES. SHORT SUPPLY MEANS HIGHER COUNTER PRICES FOR THE CONSUMER. THE JAPANESE FORESAW THE TREND AND GOT READY.

AFTER MANY ATTEMPTS THEY SUCCEEDED IN THIS DIFFICULT TASK. THEY DID IT WITH IMPROVISATIONS, MOTHER NATURE'S TECHNIQUE. THEY TESTED ALL CYCLES. THEY TRIED KEEPING THE FRY IN FRESH WATER FOR SHORTER PERIODS OF TIME. THAT DIDN'T WORK. THEN LONGER PERIODS. FINALLY THEY HIT UPON THE SECRET. IF YOU KEEP SALMON IN FRESH WATER FOR TWO YEARS THEY DON'T GROW ANY LARGER THAN THEY DID AFTER ONE YEAR BUT THEY DEVELOP INTO 'SUPERFISH'. THEY CAN SWIM FASTER AND ARE MORE SUCCESS- FUL IN COMPETING FOR NATURAL FOOD.

SO THE JAPANESE RELEASED THESE FRY INTO FENCED-OFF AREAS CALLED "CRAWLS"; SALT WATER FJORDS, IN EFFECT. IN JUST SIX MONTHS THESE FISH EXPERIENCED AN AVERAGE WEIGHT GAIN OF 900 PERCENT - FROM JUST 300 GRAMS TO 1.6 KILOGRAMS. IT WAS UNHEARD OF. ALSO THEIR FOOD WAS NATURAL DUE TO TIDAL FLOW THROUGH THE BARRIER NETS. THEY ALSO COULD CHECK ON THEM FOR DISEASE WITH MINIMUM EFFORT. THE FREE SWIMMING AREA WAS LARGE ENOUGH TO PREVENT SEABED FOULING FROM NATURAL FEEDING AND THEY DIDN'T USE ARTIFICIAL FEEDING. THE GROWN SALMON WERE EASILY LANDED WITHOUT DAMAGE !! THUS BETTER QUALITY FISH WERE PROCESSED NEARBY IMMEDIATELY INSTEAD OF THE STANDARD TECHNIQUE OF PUTTING THEM IN THE SHIP'S HOLD, PACKED WITH ICE TO TRAVEL FOR TWO TO TEN DAYS TO BE PROCESSED ON SOME DISTANT SHORE. NET RESULT: BETTER FISH, BETTER PRICE. THE FIRST TEST MARKETING OF 8,000 OF SUCH FISH WENT ON SALE -- AND WERE QUICKLY SNAPPED UP -- THIS YEAR IN JAPAN - AT PRICES COMPARABLE TO IMPORTED SALMON FROM CANADA!

THEY RECENTLY ACCOMPLISHED AN EVEN MORE REMARKABLE FEAT BY BREEDING LOBSTERS IN CAPTIVITY! WATCH FOR WORLD FOOD MARKETS TO CHANGE WITH SUCH NEW SEAFOOD DEVELOPMENTS.

NOW TO ABALONE. TIME WAS WHEN THIS SUCCLENT SHELLFISH SOLD FOR JUST $4 A POUND. TODAY WITH THE JAPANESE BUYING SIX MILLION POUNDS OF LESS DESIRABLE ABALONE A YEAR FROM AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND MEXICO, THE SEABEDS OFF CALIFORNIA WITH THEIR TOP GRADE RED ABALONE (HALIOTIS RUFESCANS) HAVE BEEN 'HARVESTED TO DEATH'. LANDINGS OF WILD ABALONE OF ALL SPECIES 2.8 MILLION POUNDS IN 1961 DROPPED TO JUST 300,000 POUNDS BY 1985. PRICES ROSE DRAMATICALLY. THE MARKET FOR TOP GRADE, SOLD TO JAPAN NOW BRINGS UP TO $32 A POUND. AT THAT RATE, WHAT ONCE SOLD FOR $4 A POUND WILL SOMEDAY RELATIVELY SOON BRING THAT PRICE PER OUNCE!

THIS TIME IT'S NOT THE JAPANESE BUT A BRITISH COLUMBIAN GROUP THAT RECOGNIZED THE OBVIOUS SIGNS AND TOOK ACTION. THEIR NAME IS ABALONE RESOURCES INC.

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