Purely organic fish farming

3:08pm Monday 31st July 2006

Fish has long been called brain food' and regarded as good for body and mind, making the aquaculture sector one of the fastest growing segments in global food markets.

The demand for organic food is increasing year-on-year and people are starting to realise that fish can also be organic as well.

ORGANIC FISH

Fish caught in the wild cannot be labelled organic because there are strict terms governing the accreditation of organic' produce. To be considered organic the producers must be approved, monitored and registered by an organic certification body, which is regulated by the UK Organic Food Standards or an EU equivalent.Part of this accreditation involves making sure that fish are farmed to organic standards, which it is impossible to do in the wild.

The four main features of organic fish farming are: prohibition of the pesticides and chemicals that are present in traditional fish farming, maintenance of aquatic eco-systems, fish are not fed with food that contains artificial colour or GM and finally that the farm promotes the use of local goods and services.

TROUT FARMING

Tony Free is a farmer who believes in organic produce, and together with his wife Eleanor he runs the Purely Organic trout farm in Longbridge Deverill.

Tony said: "We started by selling organic vegetable boxes 10 years ago and we also offered a full range of organic groceries.We were a bit ahead of our time and the shops that we opened in Devizes, Frome and Bath ended up closing due to four months of road works in Bath, which prevented customers from getting to us.

In 1999 we decided that we needed a product of our own and we took on Deverills Trout Farm, which had just got organic status." When Tony arrived at the farm he was pleased to discover the extent of natural resources available to him.

"We did early food trials on the trout to establish what weight gain they put on from organic food pellets. To our surprise the fish that we weren 't feeding put on more weight than those we were. After further investigation we found that the fish that weren't being fed were getting live shrimp coming through with the water from the organic watercress beds.

Because of the wonderful quality of the spring water that feeds our farm (believed to have been under the ground for 400 years)and the live food that comes through,our fish have a unique flavour."

CELEBRITY FANS

Their trout has lots of celebrity fans as well, Rick Stein said: "Purely Organic 's trout are the best in Britain" and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said they are "better than any I have tasted". Tony is pleased that his work is getting recognition, "We are so excited about the support from top chefs particularly Rick Stein and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall as they are genuine people who really care about local food production."

The reason for this difference in taste comes from the attention to detail and the organic lifestyle that the trout enjoy. "Our fish start life in Dorset and they are brought to Longbridge Deverill for the last half of their life where the beautiful Longbridge Deverill waters work their magic." said Tony.

HEALTH BENEFITS

Organic farming methods produce a unique product, which Tony feels is the future for farming, "An organic farm is dramatically different from a non-organic farm for a number of reasons.Organic trout are a very pale pink as they are not given pink colouring in their diet, whereas non-organic are.

Organic trout are normal male and female whereas all non-organic trout are either triploid fish because they have an extra x chromosome or all female ' because a female fish is fed testosterone and becomes a pseudo-male whose sperm produces all female offspring.

"When you see a rainbow trout in a stream in this country it is not wild, it has been put there as stock and is unable to breed. These fish have a less firm texture and an earthy taste, this is not at all like the organic version which has pale flaky flesh and a clean taste.

"The benefits of buying organic trout are clear. You get a better tasting, healthier product." As well as the trout farm, Purely Organic also has a shop that sells other organic products. Visit www.purelyorganic.co.uk to order organic trout from the farm.