November is Ocean Wise month, and to highlight the importance of sustainable seafood and the great work being done by our partners to support ocean conservation, this month we are profiling blog posts written about Ocean Wise partners.

“Why should I care about future generations?
What have they ever done for me?
- Groucho Marx
When Albion Fisheries became the founding Ocean Wise supplier partner over four years ago, it was a great honour to be recognized as a leader in sustainability by such an incredible organization. But a lot of people may not be aware that our seafood sustainability journey started almost 50 years ago, when Albion Fisheries first started.
In the summer of 1963, Dave Athey started Albion by delivering locally caught fish to restaurants around Vancouver. You see, Dave’s family knew a thing or two about seafood – Dave’s father ran the seafood counter at Woodward’s and his brother joined Dave in searching out the best locally caught fish for the market. Dave knew that if he wanted to create a long-term successful business, he had to work with local fishers and suppliers that had an interest in supplying premium quality seafood that didn’t harm the environment.
He knew that his children and nieces and nephews would someday enter the business, and Dave wanted to make sure there was still fish in the oceans when they joined Albion (and more importantly – when their children joined Albion).
Jump ahead and Albion now carries over 2,000 different seafood items sourced from all over the world and is the largest seafood distributor in western Canada. Along the way, we’ve stopped selling lots of products that we believed were either fished illegally or overfished. In fact 12 years ago, we stopped selling Chilean Seabass (Patagonian Toothfish) due to the overwhelming evidence of overfishing when it was one of the most popular seafood items in Vancouver. Now, we are happy to report that some stocks have rebounded and we now offer an Ocean Wise recommended Chilean Seabass from the Falkland Islands.
By focusing on sustainability, we are seeing more and more fish stocks rebound and become stronger. By supporting Ocean Wise recommended seafood, you are sending a message that you not only care about the environment but you are also committed to preserving this beautiful natural resource for our future generations.
At Albion, we continue to focus our efforts on providing sustainable seafood to restaurants and supermarkets in western Canada. We’ve also learned that we have a role to play in helping some of those fisheries and seafood production projects that are not yet Ocean Wise recommended get to a better spot. That’s why we are actively working with new technology like land-raised seafood production and selective fishing methods that will hopefully help supply more sustainable seafood in the future.
We’ve come a long way in 50 years but our passions have stayed true to Dave Athey’s dream.   Three generations later, Dave’s family still is actively involved in our company and children of other long-term employees are now jumping on board as well. Choosing sustainability is not just about doing the right thing but about making sure our children and children’s children have safe and healthy seafood in their future. It’s a journey that Albion Fisheries is excited to be on!
Guest blog post by Guy Dean, vice president and chief sustainability officer, Albion Fisheries Ltd. Guy also served on the judging panel for Vancouver’s 2013 Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown on Nov. 20, and his company was a key supplier partner for all three Chowdown events in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto.


All Availability is subject Weather Conditions, Government Regulations and Quality Control.

Seafood
Availability
Salmon-Spring (Farmed or Wild)January to December
Salmon-SockeyeMay to September
Salmon-CohoJuly to October
Salmon-ChumJuly to October
Salmon-PinkJuly and August
HalibutMarch to November
SablefishJanuary to October
PollockJanuary to April 
August to November
CodJanuary to December
Cod-LingApril to November
FlounderJanuary to December
RockfishJanuary to May
July to December
Herring FoodNovember and December
HakeJune to September
Crab-DungenessJanuary to December
Shrimp- SidestripeMay to September
OystersJanuary to December
ClamsJanuary to December
GeoduckJanuary to September
Sea UrchinJanuary to May
October to December
Pink ScallopsJanuary to December
Tuna-Albacore


Shellfish harvested in BC recalled due to risk of paralytic toxins

heather-loney-headshotBy Senior Producer  Global News
CFIA recalls shellfish harvested in BC
Canadians in Alberta and British Columbia are being warned to stay away from certain shellfish products following a recall by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Canadians in Alberta and British Columbia are being warned to stay away from certain shellfish products following a recall by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The CFIA is warning the public to avoid a number of oysters and clams as they may contain paralytic shellfish toxins, which can lead to serious health problems.

Paralytic shellfish toxins can case Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP), symptoms of which include tingling, numbness of the lips, tongue, hands and feet and difficulty swallowing.
In severe cases, PSP can lead to muscle paralysis, respiratory paralysis and death.
There have been no reported cases of PSP related to this advisory.
The CFIA said that the shellfish products were primarily distributed to wholesalers and restaurants, however they also may have been sold at smaller retail seafood counters.
While the products were distributed in Alberta and B.C., the CFIA is warning that the products could have made their way to other provinces and territories in Canada.
Affected products
Brand NameCommon NameSizeCodes(s) on ProductAdditional Info
–Oyster N/Shell Effingham XSM5 dozen14130Processor
Albion Fisheries Ltd., Richmond
–Oyster N/Shell Pac Rim Petite5 dozen14130Processor
Albion Fisheries Ltd., Richmond
–Clam N/Shell Manila5 lb14137Processor
Albion Fisheries Ltd., Richmond
–Pacific Rim Petite OystersVarious13081401Processor
Pacific Rim Shellfish (2003) Corporation, Vancouver
–Manila ClamsVarious13081403Processor
Pacific Rim Shellfish (2003) Corporation, Vancouver
–Little Neck Clams20 lb13081402Processor
Pacific Rim Shellfish (2003) Corporation, Vancouver
–Petite Oysters in Shell5 dozen11931Processor
Clear Bay Fisheries Inc., Richmond
–Oysters in Shell5 dozen11931Processor
Clear Bay Fisheries Inc., Richmond
© Shaw Media, 2013
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