On Friday 26 May 2023, Riccarton High students from 10C took the first SSEP field trip to Akaroa Salmon.

We were met by Akaroa Salmon's marketing manager, Nick Mavromatis, as well as Sridhar, the plant manager, who explained to us just how and why they have some of the ‘world’s best and freshest salmon’. Nick had visited Riccarton High just a month before to introduce Akaroa Salmon to us and demonstrate how to fillet salmon. Akaroa Salmon farm a species of salmon called ‘King Salmon’ which are ‘anadromous’ (meaning fish that migrate from freshwater rivers to the ocean and back to spawn in their natal streams) and are considered the best in the world.

Our class was split into two groups with one group heading down to the area where employees fillet and pinbone the salmon, accompanied by Nick, while the other group stayed with Sridhar to learn more about salmon. Students who went downstairs to where the salmon were processed had to wear coats to cover their clothes and hair and and coverings over their shoes to keep the workplace clean. Students were shown how they filleted and pin-boned the fish, boxed the salmon to send to local restaurants and international exports to countries like Singapore, Japan, and China. The temperature in the filleting room is kept cool to minimise microbes growing on the salmon and our students weren't allowed into the room where they pack the ‘ready to eat’ salmon for hygiene reasons.

Upstairs, our students learnt about what the employees do every day to keep the salmon safe to eat and what can happen if they are not vigilant . Every day, employees head out to Akaroa at 10.00am to collect the harvested salmon, arriving back at the plant around 4.00pm. This means that any salmon bought in their store is always super fresh, only 24 hours out of the water. 

We learnt a heap of interesting facts including:

• If buying fresh salmon, it should be kept in a fridge between 0 and 4 degrees and it should be eaten within 2 days
• Hot-smoked and cold-smoked salmon must also be kept in the fridge, with cold-smoked salmon lasting 3 weeks, and hot-smoked salmon lasting about 4 weeks. Any longer than this and it becomes unsafe to eat

Our students were treated to a morning tea consisting of cold and hot-smoked salmon on crackers topped with a drop of mayonnaise. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it and decided smoked salmon is a must try!

If you have a craving for salmon then I highly recommend visiting Akaroa Salmon at 89 Treffers Road in Wigram. They have a small walk-in shop where you can buy freshly filleted king salmon that is always only 24 hours out of the water. There is also a small restaurant called ‘Mugen’ connected to the shop where you can dine-in or takeaway fresh sushi and other hot foods. Their salmon is absolutely delicious!

Akaroa Salmon is farmed in the cold, clear waters of Akaroa Harbour in Canterbury.  A family operation established over three decades ago, their approach to hand-rearing salmon prioritises the health and welfare of the salmon and the long-term protection of the environment. Discover more about Akaroa Salmon here.