Hook, Line, and Sinker

Litchfield Farms is Falling for Fish

A few years back, Litchfield Farms made a decisive move away from land-based agriculture products and into the seafood market. General Manager Andrea Angera's grandfather had started the business 75 years ago, at a time when there weren't "unnatural" products.

"It really wasn't until after World War II that we saw the impact of industrial fertilizers on the products we were consuming," says Angera, "and now we are finally back full circle to a time that emphasizes a natural profile. There was a big social context to the original organic movement, which was to support farmers and eat food that came from people we knew, that was harvested using techniques we approved of, including being good to the animals and the environment."

As a recreational fisherman, Angera had decided to take a closer look at the seafood sector and recognized it was at the same place that agriculture had been many years ago: in need of refocusing. "The consumption of fish is increasing, as it should. It is an ideal protein source: low in fat and rich in omega-3 and -6. But the general concerns about mercury and pollutants, as well as sustainability and affordability, are genuine." Litchfield Farms strives to bring its customers--both chefs and individual consumers alike--fresh fish that is completely traceable, by forging relationships with like-minded fisheries the world over.

They start with a defined standard for every fish they distribute. "One hundred percent of wild fisheries are either at capacity or have collapsed today," Angera states, "so we only support limited wild fisheries that have a cultural connection, not factory fishing. After all, it would be wrong to tell an Ecuadorian fisherman that he can't go out and catch fish to feed his family or local community, or someone on Long Island who has been oystering there for 300 years to stop. It's about maintaining a connection to the sea and a cultural connection to tradition." Case in point: his Brazilian producer that supplies cobia, a wild fish that is often a bycatch. Everyone who works on this particular farm was a local fisherman put out of business when large companies came in with factory boats. "Not only is it a greattasting product, but you are helping create cultural reinvigoration in the area, so everyone wins."

A recent study released by the United Nations supports aquaculture farms as the best source of fresh fish for human consumption, and Angera couldn't agree more, although he carefully selects only farms that meet the company's high standards. Litchfield prides itself on its hands-on connection with every facility they work with: each one has been visited and verified by a staff member. "We hold everyone we do business with accountable--we ask for their feed analysis, and we are told of every change or health issue that occurs." He offers as example the Norwegian company Codfarmers, who have a fully integrated program for cod, currently on the list of endangered species, where they take eggs and sperm together with the local genetics of the Norwegian wild cod and raise them in what Angera considers one of the best-managed environments in the world. Another example of exemplary farmed fish is the Kindai tuna, a completely cultured bluefin tuna 30 years in the making, courtesy of Japan's Kinki University. "The fish we represent have to be indigenous," Angera explains. "Here, wild fish are brought in for the genetic expression, and any excess that can't be raised are released into the wild. This is a case of cultivating a fish to maintain a cultural connection by preserving a cultural icon, not raising fish to feed the planet because bluefin are so high up on the food chain. Feed the world with cobia, not tuna!"

Litchfield Farms is also committed to education. "Training involves an academic element--a full history of the relationship of all parties in the seafood industry, as well as a demonstration using the fish. In the case of the Kindai tuna, the idea is to show how every piece is usable, right down to the bones used for fish stock after every scrap of meat is removed for tuna tartar. In Japan, even the tendons are cured and made into pastrami."

"When I walk into a restaurant, I'm not just selling fish--I'm bringing a story with a connection to a person with an exceptional product, and that's how I get business," explains Angera. "I connect with the chefs because we share a commitment to the same thing." And with a little effort on our part, eating the right fish for the right reasons will make all the difference in the world--starting with the oceans.