Fogo Island Fish

Cod Cheek

Flash Frozen Cod Cheeks from Fogo Island Newfoundland

The fishers only go out 5 miles from the coast in small day boats, where they catch 500-600 lbs of fresh fish per day, in sight of home.

The cod is cold (as in, really cold) water fish – the currents heading down the coast of Labrador are the same that bring icebergs in from Greenland.

The fish is caught just once per year (in the fall) which means the fish are at their physiological peak.

The cod is caught using hand lines, bled at sea, and flash frozen to maintain peak freshness. Hand lining also means there is no by-catch

Cod Tongue

Flash Frozen Cod Tongues from Fogo Island Newfoundland

Since they are so close to the island, the cod is processed within hours of being caught by cooperatively owned processing facility on Fogo Island. That’s where they filet, debone and package the cod, which employs more people from the island.

These products are available to chefs only and come direct from Fogo Island – that means the fishers are paid double the market rates for fish, because there are fewer intermediaries.

Any surplus from the enterprise gets reinvested on Fogo Island through the Shorefast Foundation (a federally registered charity).