It’s a dazzling June morning on Lac St. Louis, at the junction of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers, and from my seat in the custom fishing boat, I can see the West Island of Montréal through the dissolving haze. Although sturgeon are listed on the federal Species at Risk Act, classified as endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and considered unsustainable by Ocean Wise, lake sturgeon stocks are actually thriving along the lower St. Lawrence where La Haye and Côté fish. They married and had two daughters, and for several years juggled family duties with wildlife consulting projects and fishing. 2. In addition to their own products, they retail foods from other local producers such as fresh vegetables, soups, sauces and prepared meals. Sturgeon is a special-occasion fish, one you'll seldom have an opportunity to cook. The couple believes they are the only ones producing sustainable, wild smoked sturgeon and caviar in Eastern Ontario — and maybe the entire province. Please enter a valid address. Sturgeon stands up to stronger flavours, sauces and accompaniments such as lemon, caper, parsley and butter sauce. Sturgeon is not your average fish. Photo 4: Fabienne Côté holds the line as Vanessa Séguin pulls a sturgeon, which can grow to lengths of five feet, from the water. Don't worry, your email address will be our little secret. As Côté and Séguin begin pulling in the first net, a sturgeon surfaces, its gills caught in the eight-inch mesh shown to be the best gauge for conserving fish stocks and ensuring an adequate harvest. How to Catch Sturgeon / Best Fishing Techniques. Once she receives a product order, she thaws, brines and dries the fish, smokes it for four to six hours, and then cools and packages it. In the years that followed, the couple bought a house near St. Eugène, built a small processing facility and retail store on the property and launched Le Petit Brûlé in 2014 as a micro-processor specializing in smoked yellow sturgeon. 2. Roast in a heavy-bottomed pan with a bit of butter at 375F to 400F for approximately 8 minutes, depending on the size of the piece. He looks for calm stretches of water and signs of recent sturgeon activity. Copyright ©2020 Edible Ottawa. Your email address is invalid. The revised quotas, which La Haye played a part in developing, have eliminated poaching and helped recolonize abandoned spawning grounds. Thanks to strictly enforced quotas and other rigorous management policies brought in by the Québec government in 2000, studies demonstrate a steady rise in wild sturgeon numbers downstream from the Beauharnois dam west of Montréal. They expect a similar number from their second gillnet. But it may be tough to beat the pure pleasure of sturgeon fishing in June, he says. Photo 2: Côté transforms the sturgeon, offering it as caviar, smoked fillets and smoked sturgeon mousse. As soon as fresh sturgeon arrive at the plant, she cleans and filets them, storing them in a cold chamber for two or three days before putting them in the freezer. Article from Edible Ottawa at https://edibleottawa.ediblecommunities.com/food-thought/sustainable-sturgeon. Before cooking, season the fish with salt and maybe a bit of sugar to even out the flavour and firm up the flesh for roasting. At 8 a.m., the air is still cool and Michel La Haye, his wife Fabienne Côté, and their helper Vanessa Séguin, are preparing to haul in their first lake sturgeon of the day. “Transforming respects better the local economy and the value of the fish,” Côté explains. All rights reserved. That’s lower than their usual daily catch in the June season (a second sturgeon season runs from mid-September to the end of October), but the cold spring has delayed the movement of the fish upstream. Photo 2: Michel La Haye, and his wife Fabienne Côté, are braced and ready to pull a sturgeon, which can weigh as much as 80 pounds., from Lac St. Louis at the junction of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers. “I know the lake by heart and love sturgeon fishing at this time of year.”. The couple’s stance isn’t surprising: both are wildlife biologists who met working on a conservation study on the Ottawa River in 2004. 4. In the fall, she prepares small quantities of caviar. “The days are long, the water is super-calm and you’re depending only on your own knowledge and skill.

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