All Fogo Island Fish products are WILD, caught live on Day-Boats with no by-catch and processed immediately on Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada in our community owned Co-operative fish plant. Our cod and shrimp are Ocean Wise recommended.

"Shatter Packs"

The inner boxes of cod are "Shatter Packs". To loosen fillets, drop the frozen box on a hard floor, with authority, and it will cause the fillets to 'loosen' without damage to the fish, allowing the fillets to be easily removed from the box individually.

The Cod Thaw (Our Experience)

1. Place fillets on sheet pan with towels underneath to soak up moisture that will accumulate.
2. Place in fridge to slack thaw, do not cover. Let the fan in the fridge help dry out the moisture.
3. Let thaw for minimum 12 hours changing towels as needed (at minimum, twice recommended). Total thaw time will depend on your fridges and size of fillets.
4. If preferred, scales can easily by removed from the fillet using the back of a Chefs knife
(leaving the skin on the Cod is recommended; helps retain the juices while cooking).
5. After thawed, portion to desired size and store in containers with fresh towels.

Aging

After fish is completely thawed, leave in the fridge another 12 hours minimum to properly age the fish. The longer you age it, the better! Our fish remains fresh in the fridge up to 5 days after aging

FAQs

What Makes our Cod Different?

From the cold waters of the Labrador Current, hand lined, caught live, bled at sea and flash frozen at the peak of freshness. We catch fish the traditional way. Single ‘hook & line’, hauled up by hand in open day-boats, around twenty feet long, two people to a boat. Our cod results in zero by-catch, no ecological damage to the ocean floor, and is the only Newfoundland fish to be 100% Ocean Wise recommended. Our cod fishery is a stewardship fishery as there is no commercial fishing for North Atlantic cod. From an economic perspective, 100% of Fogo Island Fish’s surpluses are reinvested on Fogo Island, contributing to the economic resilience of the Island and those who call it home.

What Happens After it's Caught?

We bleed our fish; we take the fish off the hook, break its gills and place it in a bath of sea water and ice to bleed out. Once bled, we gut the fish and wash it with sea water and store it on ice for the journey home, resulting in a firmer, whiter, tastier fillet.

Where and When is the Cod Caught?

All our fish are caught within 5 miles off the coast of Fogo Island; in view of home. Because we fish close to home, it is processed the day it’s caught. We only catch fish once a year, in the fall when the fish are at their physiological peak. They have been gorging throughout the summer on bait fish to put on weight after spawning in the spring. This allows us to take 20-25% fewer fish from the ocean.

Where is the Cod Processed?

We have a community-owned cooperative on the Island that processes all our fish; The co-op fillets, debones, and packages the fish. We use world-class technology to ‘flash freeze’ the fish the day it was caught to ensure maximum freshness.