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| NZ salmon on US menu |
Consumers have dozens of species to choose from such as chum and sockeye but now there's a new fish on the block - all the way from New Zealand. The kiwi salmon is the chinook species which originally came from British Colombia but is now in short supply.
"It's interesting that an indigenous fish to British Colombia is being grown in New Zealand and shipped out here and we're not doing it ourselves," says Canadian salmon importer Joe Collins.
The exports are worth less than a million dollars a year but New Zealand King Salmon welcomes the business.
"The price is the highest we have anywhere in the world at the moment so they really appreciate and value the attributes of chinook," chief executive Paul Steere says.
As well as being the world's largest salmon, the chinook is sought after for its high omega 3 content.
"The meat is fattier, flavour is different, so something new for people to try," says Mike Heras from 7 Seas fish company.
New Zealand's salmon exports to Canada come at a time when the local industry is suffering from issues like overfishing and pollution of waterways. And there is also mounting concern about the damage being caused by salmon farming.
Source:tvnz