Meet the Gooseberry Cove couple committed to a unique method of harvesting quality codfish.
Reprinted from Downhome Magazine, August 2017
By Kim Ploughman
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have always had a bit of a love affair with the beloved cod. In a small, pristine cove in Trinity Bay, there’s a couple with a very special affinity for cod; they believe in, shall we say, coddling this famous fish.
Valerie Johnson and her husband, Claude Seward (pictured right), of Gooseberry Cove call themselves cod ranchers, but their devotion to our province’s famous fish would suggest the relationship is a crazy little thing called cod love. Valerie, the company CEO, beams this affection whenever she promotes their cod ranch.
Cod Care
Ranching cod is a capture-based aquaculture activity unlike cod farming, which is an egg-to-plate operation. The modern-day practice of cod ranching began in the late 1980s when fish quotas were in decline. Notwithstanding the 1992 moratorium, by 1999 some 17 cod ranchers had operations all over the province. But when the second cod moratorium hit in 2002, most of these operations were wiped out. Today, Gooseberry Cove Cod is the sole cod
ranching product going to market from this province.
And as the last operation standing, Valerie and Claude remain as committed as ever to putting the time, attention and innovation into raising premium-quality cod. This nurturing first involves trapping the fish alive in the summer and transferring them to marine net pens at Heart’s Ease Inlet. Here, they are fattened up with herring and capelin. This local, natural feed, which the couple catch themselves, flavours the cod and keeps the fillets white and flaky. The cod are hand-fed every four to five days, and the fish respond well to all that attention — doubling their weight (and market value) in 90 days. Harvesting occurs in early fall, after the fish are plumped to market size. Head on, gutted on site, the cod are packed in boxes for truckers to transport the product to brokers in Boston. (Whatever fish are not harvested overwinter in nearby Ship Cove. Smaller ones remain in the pens for more than a year until they are good and ready for market.)
Cleanfish Movement
Gooseberry Cove Cod is part of a good food revolution taking place across North America. The cod ranch signed onto the CleanFish label — a sustainable seafood marketing company that provides certification — close to a decade ago. Located out of San Francisco, CleanFish supports artisan and small-scale fisheries.
According to its website, “our network of artisans are stewards of their fisheries, and we are stewards of their stories as we connect producers to chefs and consumers in a celebration of fish you can trust with a difference you can taste.”
And there really is a marked quality difference with ranched cod. Its shelf life is much longer than that of traditional wild fish, explains Valerie.
“We’ve eaten the fish after 21 days — and it’s absolutely perfect,” she says, explaining that the fish is still healthy, the muscle good and opaque.
Their ranched cod go from Trinity Bay to niche markets in Chicago, Boston, Montreal and Toronto, which are looking for 100 per cent natural and ecologically sustainable fish that can be traced back to the harvester or producer. Gooseberry Cove Cod has been featured on menus at such establishments as The Flying Fish Café at Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellar at Pebble Beach, both in California.
“It’s exciting to see Newfoundland cod sold in fine restaurants — we’re really proud of that,” says Valerie. It has also been featured at Bacalao in St. John’s.
According to Valerie, a retired special education teacher, Gooseberry Cove Cod has received rave reviews far and wide. “We cannot meet the market demands — it’s insatiable. They love the product,” she says. “Wild cod can be inconsistent in supply and quality, but ranched cod is always pure white and opaque. Consistent product all year around — that’s what the market is looking for, consistently excellent!”
Risky Business
Claude founded the company in the late 1980s and after the cod moratorium of 1992, ranching this iconic fish became an innovative option for this fisherman as he pursued other species. By 1996, he found his mate, Valerie. She handles the business and marketing side, while her husband does what he loves best — trapping and ranching. But it’s not always easy.
A glitch occurred last year as approval from DFO came too late in the season to fish and supply the market. So Valerie is looking forward to a more successful year ahead. Still, she is worried about government regulations this year that prevent cod from being taken in July — the prime time for capture for their fish ranch.
“We are hoping that DFO will be more supportive, which hasn’t always been the case. We need to set traps in a timely manner. You can’t catch cod in the fall as they go too deep,” she says. The ranchers would also like to modify the cod trap. Again, the federal government has been reluctant to embrace their methods for improvement.
In June, Valerie excitedly returned from an inspiring excursion to Greenland and Norway. These two countries offer huge incentives for fishers in small, remote communities in harsh northern environments to hold cod, even for 24 hours, as it makes for a better quality product. It took a while for them to figure it out, but if you ranch your cod and let it recover and repair from capture, you get a better quality product, she explains.
Fishing for the Future
Back at the cod ranch, the relationship between Claude, Valerie and Newfoundland’s legendary fish is clearly respectful and ecologically sound. These cod aficionados are true stewards of the fishery, taking fewer fish from the ocean with no bycatch or habitat destruction. Valerie also takes pride in the way they take care of both the fish and the consumer; nothing goes to market unless it’s absolutely perfect.
Cod ranching is an innovative synergy between traditional fishery and aquaculture. It is hailed as the key to the future of clean seafood, and Valerie is optimistic as she looks ahead.
“We are enthusiastic and excited for the future of cod aquaculture in the province. We want to see the industry reach its potential and increase its value, including secondary processing, especially for cod livers and roe. We have already proven that Newfoundland and Labrador cod can get a premium price on the market, upwards of US$3.25 [per pound],” she says.
More than two decades in, and the Gooseberry Cove Cod ranchers are inspired to keep going.
“Claude is a person that loves feeding fish and loves looking after them, and we’re proud of the quality of the fish we offer our customers because of this attention,” says Valerie. “And we want to keep people working and living in rural
Newfoundland and Labrador.”
While helping to ensure the outports survive these tumultuous economic times, Valerie and Claude are sustainably and organically feeding cod lovers all over the world — the way Newfoundland and Labrador did for centuries.
If these two ardent cod ranchers from Trinity Bay have anything to do with it, that crazy little thing called cod love just might resurrect our reputation as the greatest little fishing nation in the world.
Last of the Cod Ranchers – PDF – Downhome Article
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Transcribed by Emily Seward, January 2022.
These transcriptions may contain human errors. As always, confirm these as you would any other source material