We are super excited to introduce a new local producer of Ontario trout products to 100km Foods, Kolapore Springs! Kolapore Springs was founded by Sean Brady and Bruce Green in 2009 and the story behind how they came to own a trout hatchery is pretty unique.
On his way to view a house in the Thornbury area, Sean's realtor mentioned that there was another property for sale in the area.
Sean agreed to check it out, not knowing he was about to be shown an old abandoned trout hatchery. Although he didn't exactly set out to own a trout hatchery, he decided he had to take it.
The source of the hatchery's cold spring water (about 7-9 degrees Celsius) comes down from cloud formation, filters down through the limestone, and then travels below the forest floor, picking up minerals, enzymes and nutrients along the way.
Kolapore Springs Ontario trout feed on fairy shrimps (which gives their flesh the signature pink hue), mosquitoes, midges and minnows. They are supplemented with a feed mix made up of plant protein (a combination of flax, soy and corn).
As a result of their premium diet, there's no need to use any kind of added growth hormones or antibiotics because the inland spring water is largely self-correcting. Gravity does most of the work to keep the water properly oxygenated to prevent bacteria growth! They also use sponges to collect debris from storm water.
In the picture below, you can see some young Ontario trout, swirling around in the nursery section of the hatchery.
Believe it or not, these trout are already many months old at this point:
Because trout are naturally very slow growing fish, they aren't harvested until they reach 3 years old.
Sean and his staff carefully tend to the trout, resulting in a beautiful firm flesh and absolutely fantastic flavour. Sean takes great care to ensure the fish aren't over crowded, catching them exclusively with dip nets and processing them at a nearby plant to ensure freshness.
The Kolapore Springs hatchery produces very little waste. They even collect and harvest the excrement to use as fertilizer.
Fresh, Kolapore Springs trout have a shelf life of 10 days from packaging. Right now, we have these available on a slightly altered schedule, so you’ll need to contact your sales rep directly to order.
Kolapore trout is from Sean’s hatchery, two other private hatcheries, and two First Nations fish farms. All the locations grow and care for their trout using agreed upon standards set out by Kolapore Springs.
We also carry their delicious smoked trout, sourced from a wider network of Ontario trout farms.
Thank you to Sean for giving us a tour of Kolapore Springs and providing all the information!
Make sure to give this incredible local Ontario trout a try, available now at 100km Foods!