By Gary Kenny

When Sean Brady bought acreage in 2009 in Grey County’s picturesque Blue Mountains, just south of Collingwood, probably the last thing on the mind of the former home builder and renovator from Toronto was reviving the property’s defunct, 1960s-era inland fish hatchery. He had planned to build a log home, kick back, and enjoy the idyllic setting which includes a 17-acre pond, lush woodlands, and rich wildlife habitat. But what to do with the hatchery? It was still in reasonably good condition. He thought of Bruce Green. Green had once installed hardwood flooring in Brady’s house in Thornbury and was a member of the Georgian Triangle Anglers Association, trained in aquaculture, and had worked for several years in a fish hatchery. They talked by phone, mulled over the idea of restarting the hatchery, agreed that it had potential, and developed a simple, direct-sale-to-the customer, business plan. By late 2009 the Kolapore Springs Trout Hatchery was once again in business, with Brady and Green as equal partners. That was 10 years ago. Today, Kolapore Springs (as the hatchery is also called) is a going concern. It provides its customers, which include prominent restauranteurs and chefs in Southern Ontario cities and towns, with Kamloops-variety rainbow trout. They are known for their firm flesh, superior flavour, and overall high quality. Large numbers of both brown trout, native to the Saugeen River watershed, and speckled trout also are raised at the hatchery but are mostly sold to stock regional ponds, lakes, rivers and streams. The drive into the hatchery site from Grey County Rd. 31, especially in spring, summer and fall, is enchanting. The dead-end gravel road wends through dense, lowland forest canopy and occasional stretches of wetlands teeming with aquatic wildlife. As one approaches the hatchery one is visually struck by what has perhaps become its picture-postcard-perfect iconic symbol: a set of old moss-covered, fern-edged concrete raceways that descend in steps through the forest. They carry cold, crystal clear spring-fed water from the nearby Niagara escarpment into the hatchery’s very heart. Andrew Kenny, who twice a year buys trout from Kolapore Springs to stock his pond, describes the last leg of the trip as a kind of personal “spiritual journey”. [Full disclosure: Kenny is this writer’s son.] Brady and Green divide their responsibilities according to their personal skills and attributes. Brady’s include a friendly, persuasive manner and innate entrepreneurialism which, with his connections in Toronto and other urban centres, make him a natural salesperson and marketer. Green’s aquaculture training and hatchery experience equip him to manage the day-to day fish farm operations. It’s a nice balance,” Brady says of the pairing. Indeed, on the basis of interviews with them both, their relationship seems like a marriage made in aquaculture heaven. The hatchery, which itself is nestled in a verdant forest setting on the edge of the property’s serene, languid pond, is quaint and unassuming. Its centrepiece is a one-storey frame building painted forest green and looking very much like its 1960s vintage. It houses 10 rectangular stainless-steel tanks in which eggs are hatched and fry reared, and three round concrete tanks housing fingerlings that are grown to a size where they can be transferred to outdoor raceways. In the external raceways and an additional two metal tanks, the fish are reared to a size when they are ready for market. Regular customers include restaurants, small (100,000 sq. ft.) grocery stores and chains, and ponds and streams stocked by private landowners, Anglers Clubs, and others. Brady and Green market their fish as sustainably and ethically-grown and harvested and say the hatchery causes little adverse environmental impact, a principle to which they are committed. The continuous flow of pristine escarpment spring water makes it possible to rear high-density cultures of fish that are relatively free of the various disorders associated with some other fish farms, in particular, diseases requiring regular doses of antibiotics to control. Gravity compels the continuous flow of water downwards from the Kolapore uplands to the hatchery. Two spring-fed streams run under the forest floor and converge about 500 metres uphill from the hatchery site. The streams, averaging at around seven degrees C, are considerably colder than water at most commercial fish farms, and are optimum for rearing trout. This results in a healthier, firmer-fleshed animal, Green says. In the hatchery the water passes through a series of troughs, tanks and raceways before it exits into the nearby pond “at almost the same temperature it enters the hatchery,” Green says. [“Raceways” in this article refers to concrete structures, some of which carry water to the hatchery from its upland source, and others that house the growing fish and through which the cold spring water flows continuously.] The water flows at a rate of about 700 gallons per minute (400 at low points), Green adds. The streams feeding the hatchery also collect and carry numerous enzyme-rich micro-organisms that provide extra enrichment for the fish. In many large-scale fish farms, these enzymes are produced artificially and have to be added to processed feed. Kolapore Springs water also carries “fairy shrimp” which are found in cold, fresh water streams and rivers almost everywhere in the northern hemisphere. Consumption of the tiny crustaceans add to the vibrant colour and quality of the fish. Other naturally-occurring dietary supplements include minnows and small insects. The trout’s mainstay diet, however, is pellets made of fish by-products processed in Ontario. As for the quality of the fish, the 57-year-old Brady says the rainbow trout his partner delivers directly to restaurants – from pool to plate, so to speak – have a reputation as being “super-fresh” and “super-delicious.” Toronto-based Chef Carl Heinrich, the season-two winner of the Food Network’s reality competition TV show, Top Chef Canada, is an enthusiastic fan. He attributes the high quality of the hatchery’s rainbow trout to the unique ecological conditions in which they are grown. Of course no business, not even a successful one like Kolapore Springs, is without its challenges. Kolapore’s two main liabilities are environment-related, Green says. The natural water flow and raceways are vulnerable to storms and heavy spring freshets. Runoff water can carry bacteria from the forest floor into the hatchery and stress the fish. When this happens, which Green says fortunately isn’t often, the raceways have to undergo extra flushing which can cut significantly into the management schedule. Without vigilant watch of weather forecasts and appropriate preventive measures, large losses of fish can occur quickly. Another persistent threat is predation. High concentrations of fish in a confined area in an outdoor setting are vulnerable to a range of predators. Wire strung in a grid-like pattern above the outdoor raceways discourages overhead attacks from herons, cormorants, eagles and hawks. A perimeter chain link fence helps exclude four-legged raiders including coyotes. Minks and raccoons, which can take a lot of fish in a short span of time, usually at night, have to be trapped. As with all farms in Ontario, whether cattle, sheep, goats, etc., or fish, it is legal for farmers to take action to protect their livestock. Disease also is something for which Green and his hired helper, André Will, are constantly on the watch. In any situation where fish or livestock are concentrated in large numbers, opportunistic diseases can occur. “Outbreaks are uncommon but when they do occur, we have to act quickly,” Green says. Serious cases can sometimes mean resorting to an antibiotic. But because Kolapore Springs trout are cultivated and grown in such cold, pure, pristine Niagara escarpment spring water, Green adds, disease outbreaks are rare. “We haven’t had to use a single antibiotic in some five years, he says. It’s another reason why his and Brady’s trout are coveted by chefs and restauranteurs whose clientele prefer naturally-grown, chemical-free fish. Even after a run of 10 years, Brady’s and Green’s enthusiasm for the hatchery seems boundless. Asked what he finds most satisfying about the work, the perennially exuberant 61-year-old Green said: “My wife works in [retail] customer service and is always dealing with people with problems and putting out fires. I’m always dealing with people who are excited … and happy [when I show up in my truck with a tank full of live trout to stock their pond.]” Adds Green, “Kids, parents, grandparents – they are always thrilled to see me and receive the live fish. They take pictures and treat me like a rock star.” Both Brady and Green say demand for the hatchery’s fish is consistently high. In fact, Green says, keeping up with orders for fish stock in particular is sometimes challenging. But neither Brady nor Green want to expand the hatchery. There are some practical obstacles, Green says, including a limited supply of the spring water, that distinguishes their product. The water could be recycled, Green adds, but that option carries too many risks to the health and quality of the fish. Recently Brady took over a small, federally-licensed plant in Owen Sound where Kolapore Springs trout, as part of a value-added measure, are being smoked and sold locally. He also hopes to market the product to prestigious hotels in Toronto, including the Four Seasons and Royal York, as part of their Canadian banquet menu. Also planned for commercial sale are smoked wild-caught Pacific salmon and Lake Huron whitefish. The whitefish will be supplied as part of a business venture with the regional Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON). Brady also says he wants to help the SON modernize their aging fleet of fishing tugs and equipment not only for his own but their commercial benefit. In interviews with both Brady and Green, one senses that expansion of Kolapore Springs Fish Hatchery, despite the demand for its coveted fish, isn’t in the cards. “We’re more than just a hobby operation,” Brady says, “but we’re not a rock and roll enterprise either,” he adds. The two good-natured fishmongers seem content with their finely-tuned, small-volume operation. It provides them with some modest extra income, but perhaps more importantly, a deep and abiding sense of satisfaction at having produced a high-quality product that is sought after by a multitude of customers. ◊