In case you haven’t heard, we’ve teamed up with Ōra King to search for North American contestants to compete in the Ōra King Awards, and win a once-in-a-lifetime, exclusive Chef’s Tour of Japan.
As you plan your dish, here’s some interesting things you might not have known about the premium New Zealand export.
1. Ōra King Salmon begin life in some of the world’s clearest water
Te Waikoropupū Springs is thought to be home to some of the world’s clearest water and is spiritually significant to the Maori people. The horizontal visibility of these waters has been measured at 63 meters, on average.
2. Ōra King runs an extensive traceability program
For the past twenty years, Ōra King’s husbandry program has bred King Salmon from approximately 115 families, individually tagging every one of the 200,000-plus fish that they’ve produced.
3. Ōra King is extremely sustainable
They’ve attained a number of awards and certifications for their efforts to grow their salmon sustainably, including the “Best Aquaculture Practices” certification from the Global Aquaculture Alliance, and a “Best Choice” rating from Seafood Watch – the consumer guide published by Monterey Bay Aquarium.
4. It’s full of beneficial fatty acids
The salmon are fed a GMO and BSE-free diet that meets the different nutritional needs throughout the stages of their life cycle. All ingredients are fully traceable. This results in salmon with beautiful silver skin, round bodies, and thick bellies with extraordinary yield of exceptionally oily flesh, chock-full of Omega-3.
5. The demand for Ōra King salmon currently exceeds supply
For the past 4 years, Ōra King has been unable to produce enough to keep up with the demands of the global market. However, they’re in the process of building new farms and expanding their programs to meet that demand.
