Farm Fishin'

Logan, West Virginia – A savory, silvery intruder is moving in where West Virginia’s miners are moving out. The state long known for its coal production is the birthplace of a fledgling aquaculture industry specializing in a relatively unknown food fish from the far north: the arctic char.

West Virginia is known for its coal industry, but now the mine has ceased to exist and we have continued to use this site,” says James Lefew, Business Manager of Isis arctic char. His company is using an abandoned mine site he says is ideal for the cold-loving fish.

“We bring the water, clear spring water, out of the reclaimed mine, and it’s pure and it’s cold enough for the fish.”

If you haven’t yet seen arctic char in your market or on a menu, that’s because it’s a newcomer to the lower 48. Long valued as a sport fish by anglers in subarctic Canada, it’s the northernmost native freshwater fish in the world.

“Trout, arctic char, and salmon are all in the same family,” explains Lefew.  “What you have with arctic char is you get the protein and omega 3s close to salmon, but as far as taste it’s closer to the trout.  So it has a mild flavor but a lot of protein, a lot of omega threes.”

West Virginia is a long way from the North Pole, but in Isis Arctic Char, the state boasts the only arctic char farm east of the Mississippi, and one of only three in the country. Lefew says the mine’s pure, frigid water is just right for raising the fish, and offers his business a way to reclaim an abandoned resource.

“Well, this is an ideal area because really this facility’s hatchery and the grow-out area are on reclaimed coal mine sites, which is a good example of post-mining lands use.”

Lefew and his colleagues who set up the business in 1997 are banking on the char’s mild, meaty taste to make it a hit with the public.

“The partners that started this company looked at the numbers of different species, and they found that arctic char would work best. 

They worked with some non-profit organizations, did some research, and they found out that when the water is as cold as it is, arctic char is a great species to have here.”

The company has set up a process to help this “cold fish” thrive at the foot of the Appalachians. First, the eggs are imported from Canada for nurturing in carefully controlled hatchery tanks.

At six months, the young fish are moved to what are called grow-out tanks, circular containers about six feet high and perhaps 15 feet in diameter.  This will be their home for the next 14 months.

“In our process in the hatchery and the grow-out, we don’t use any hormones,” says Lefew.  We don’t use any chemicals.  We’re all natural.  I think the water helps us do that since it’s so clean and pure. 

But we’re all natural, and we’re very proud of that.”
It takes two years to get the exotic fish to a marketable size.  Lefew pulls a plump char from a grow-out tank.

“This one here is about four pounds, four and a half pounds.”  At that size, it’s about ready for market, he adds. Isis Arctic Char is now producing about 6,500 pounds of fish per week, says Lefew.

That’s not a huge amount, but if some dishes like those Chef Robert Wong is whipping up catch on, demand’s likely to grow.  Wong rules the kitchen at nearby Charleston’s upscale Bridge Road Bistro.  It’s the kind of restaurant that seems to be most willing to give the newcomer a try.
 
Chef Wong’s in his kitchen, trying out a new arctic char recipe.  “Let’s go and light it up anytime you’re ready,” he says to an assistant.  He believes the char has what it takes to be a culinary hit.

“We’ve been working with the char for several years, and the char is a very versatile fish. We love it because we’ve done a lot of different variations on it. We’ve grilled it. We’ve sautéed it. We’ve fried it.  And it’s just very, very versatile. And it’s grown in our backyard.”
   
He says the char is becoming a favorite with his customers. Char entrees adorn the table of one group of women who’ve stopped in for dinner.

“We’d heard the story that it was being raised in West Virginia now,” says one,  “in, I guess, the abandoned coal mines. So we thought we would try it.  It’s even better to have a chef fix it the first time.  So then, we’ll find recipes for it and try it later.

It’s a first step, Lefew and Isis Arctic Char hope, in a rapid process of discovery among the Heartland’s fish lovers.  They’re hoping the silver fish will turn to gold as it swims from the cold waters of West Virginia’s mines to the top of restaurant menus nationwide.