Top Top

Georgia Straight

Fishing For BC Spot Prawns with Organic Ocean

  By Leeann Froese

Sometimes in my work I get to do some pretty cool things.

Spot Prawn #selfie

I feel truly lucky that I get to go to lots of different wine tastings, meet some very interesting personalities, eat some incredible food, and get exposed to a lot of things that some other people might not unless they were in our industry. I would say that my experience last week would be no exception, when I got to go on a ride along on a spot prawn fishing boat.

We do media relations for the Chefs' Table Society of British Columbia, and as a result of this, for the past month we have been working very closely with spot prawn fisherman (the Spot Prawn Festival is a Chefs' Table Society initiative).

Michelle da Silva, a staff reporter for the Georgia Strait, was writing a story about Spot Prawns because she felt that her readers would like to know a little bit more about these little delicacies, how they are harvested and where they come from. So I, and Amber Sessions from Tourism Vancouver, joined in for a ride along.

Frank, Peter and Steve

What a great learning opportunity it was to see the fisherman at work. We were on the Organic Ocean, which is run by Steve Johanson and Frank Keitsch (and co-owned by Dane Chauvel, who was not with us).

Peter Chauvel, Dane's son, was with them. Peter is a university student who has been on fishing trips since he was a toddler. Today, Peter spends his summers working on the boats in between his semesters at university.

The location of the traps is a well-kept secret, in order to keep things commercially sensitive.

 

 

 

A picture-perfect day to fish the West Coast of BC

What I can share is that they have different fishing grounds up and down the west coast, and we were lucky enough to see them pull out a few strings of traps and then reset them.

I was mentally prepared to be put to work, but in the end, I just got to watch and enjoy what had to be one of the most beautiful mornings on the water all season.

The three fishermen have a very well orchestrated system. One person uses a winch and hoists in the traps, the second person empties them on a custom-built table, and passes the net to the third person, who resets the bait and gets the traps ready to drop back into the water, once all the catch has been brought up.

On person brings up the traps while the second empties

Traps with Spot Prawns and other by-catch are emptied onto a custom-built table

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What was interesting to learn is that before any of the spot prawns are caught, a section of the boat hull is filled with very cold ocean water which is then further cooled on board. This on-board tank utilizes a computerized chilling system to circulate sea water drawn from the ocean floor. When the spot prawns are caught they are put into this icy cold water to stay alive up until the time that they are sold at False Creek Fisherman's Wharf or transported to restaurants. It does not get any fresher than this.

I did not for one minute think that Spot Prawn fishing would fall into the category of an easy job, but I think you, dear readers will appreciate these delicious little critters that much more after hearing how hard the fishermen work to get them to you.

The work was physically demanding, as the traps after coming up on a hoist are heavy: filled with catch, and wet. Also this is a wet job – waterproof wear is required as there is a lot of water splashing off the line and traps, and there is plenty of fast, physical action as the nets get emptied.

Spot Prawns and by-catch are sorted

By-catch is thrown back inot the ocean - but not until after we get a look

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As each trap is emptied a very low tech tool is employed – a plastic dust pan. This flat scoop is perfect for picking up the spot prawns after they are dumped out of the traps, but first the prawns must be sorted.

Michelle is given her first taste of a freshly-caught, raw Spot Prawn

Amber is "the crab whisperer" calmly throwing back the by-catch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this time the unwelcome are also removed. In the traps sometimes there are other sea creatures, noted as by-catch, which can include other shrimp, crabs, jellyfish and other miscellany of fish of varying sizes. I got to check out and then throw back a Squat Lobster - which I had never heard of or seen before!

Leeann and squat lobster

I was hoping for an octopus but none were accidentally caught that day. All by-catch is thrown back into the ocean so they can live another day. And the spot prawns have to be the right size. Any that are too small or if there are any with eggs, they are thrown back as well "for next year's catch".

 

 

 

 

 

A real treat: from the first trap emptied, Steve gave us each a spot prawn "breakfast" he says. I had never eaten a raw spot prawn before, and Michelle was a little unnerved as hers was "still twitching". Nevertheless, we peeled and ate these fresh-from the sea prawns. They were somewhat sweet with nice firm flesh and absolutely delicious.

A Spot Prawn!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the nets were hoisted by Frank and emptied by Steve, Pete would take the nets make sure that no jellyfish or anything else is stuck inside and then he re-sets the bait, which is a special smelly fishy mixture. Then the nets are stacked up and prepared to be dropped back into the water for the next day's catch.

Pete is re-filling the bait and getting the traps ready to re-set

The traps being dropped back onto the water

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The spot prawn season lasts six to eight weeks, and every day it is this same set of physically demanding tasks, seven days a week, rain or shine.

Baskets are filled with live prawns to go into the ice bath and off to market

Want to see Michelle’s story of our experience?

About Spot Prawns

Wild BC spot prawns are a delicacy known around the world for their sweet, delicate flavour and firm texture. They are most recognizable for their reddish brown colour, which turns bright pink when cooked, defining white spots on their tail and white horizontal bars on the carapace.

BC spot prawns are the largest of the seven commercial species of shrimp found on the west coast of Canada. They vary greatly in size, with some larger females exceeding 23 cm in total length. Prawns are hermaphrodites: for the first two years of their lives they are males, and then they change to females. Typically, spot prawns live a total of four years. In BC, approximately 2,450 metric tonnes are harvested annually, with about 65% of the harvest coming from the waters between Vancouver Island and the mainland.

BC spot prawns are available live during the harvest season, which usually starts in May and lasts anywhere from six to eight weeks. Prawn fishermen spread baited traps along the rocky ocean floor at depths ranging from 40 to 100 metres. This method has minimal impact on ocean habitat and very low levels of by-catch of other species.

BC spot prawns are very popular in Japan and the rest of Asia, with over 90% of BC’s commercial catch consumed there. Most of the prawns are frozen at sea by fishermen, and then packed and exported across the Pacific. The remaining few, however, like what was harvest by Organic Ocean on our ride along, are available to be enjoyed fresh in local BC restaurants and kitchens during the fishing season!

Spot prawn stocks are carefully and sustainably managed to ensure that they remain available to enjoy for many years to come, including:

  • Limiting the number of vessels that can commercially harvest spot prawns
  • Limiting the number of traps that can be used
  • Returning females with eggs live to the ocean
  • Monitoring the spot prawn population and closing the fishery when prawn stocks approach a pre-determined level

Learn more about the Spot Prawn Festival and link to more information on Spot Prawns here.

Lots of love for the Pink Bub from Haywire winery

Client news: Haywire winery Posted by Leeann Froese

Haywire logo NEW-1colour

 

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time, Haywire released an experimental lot of their sparkling wine, the Bub, with a pink dosage and released it just in time for Valentine’s Day. The wine was a hit beyond expectations and sold out in a week and a half!

Well, the Pink Bub is back, and this time, it has its own pearly white label (designed by our team) and we are so excited to share that the press is just as excited for this year's release.

There are many positive reviews and 'love' for the Pink Bub, just in time for Valentine's Day.

Haywire Pink Bub Lightened BackgroundThank you to the journalists, publishers and bloggers for all of your support! Read all about it...

Kurtis Kolt from WE | The Westender says "Pink peppercorns galore entertain raspberries."

Jurgen Gothe from The Georgia Straight says "A delicious and deep-fruited bubble."

Editor Jim Tobler's #WineWednesday Pick in MONTECRISTO Magazine "People will be impressed just looking at it [we'll take that], but even more so when they imbibe."

Treve Ring from WineAlign says "Forget flowers, buy rosés."

Treve also includes the Pink Bub in her regular column in EAT magazine and says "A fitting pick for St. Valentine’s Day and celebrating the sweethearts in your life."

Kayla Bordignon writes about it on her blog Uncork BC

In Stimuli magazine, Kristine Carrick includes the Pink Bub in her Valentine's Day roundup: "I’ve decided that the pink and red day on the calendar should be a reminder to treat yourself."

Alison Scholefield, a.k.a. 'The Bub'

If you don't already know about the Pink Bub, this sparkling wine is a true labour of love and is a tribute to the lovely Alison Scholefield, known as the Bub, Bubba, Bubster, or Alibubba in her early days.

This wine was made with 51% Pinot Noir and 49% Chardon­nay grapes grown in a cool moun­tain vine­yard site near Oliver. Whole clus­ter pressed, fer­mented cool, and sec­ondary bottle-fermented. At dis­gorg­ing, a dosage made from red wine was added to give Pink Bub its lively colour.

Closed with a crown cap to ensure this wine tastes just as winemaker Michael Bartier intends. This wine bursts with crisp and elegant green apple with a slight cherry note – a lively expression of Okanagan freshness. At just $24.90 per bottle; get yours now!

Buy online or see the list of stores.

Have you seen a recent review of the Pink Bub that we've missed here? Tell us about it.