Riverence

The Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls is home to breathtaking views and one waterfall after another, pouring out of solid rock cliffs. PHOTO BY KAREN DAY

Idaho’s Big Fish Story

Sustainable Innovator of Fresh Trout

BY APRIL NEALE

Move over, potato! Idaho’s significant role in responsible land-based aquaculture conservation is flourishing thanks to Riverence, a privately-held company, making waves in sustainable trout farming in Twin Falls. Chalk it up to a freakish geological set of circumstances from over 17,000 years ago; the Gem State might aptly be renamed “The Water State” despite no ocean beaches. Aquaculture is ready for its close-up, Mr. DeMille, and Idaho is where this Hollywood magic happens, thanks in significant part to Riverence Provisions and Riverence Farms’ thoughtful CEO Rob Young and co-owner/producer David E. Kelley.

The other star in this big fish story is the vast reservoir of crystal clear spring water that exists, compressed over time in the enormous basalt basin of ancient beds that hug the winding Snake River and the jagged Sawtooths. The great geological abundance of Idaho’s aquifer and some existing land-based aquaculture businesses were combined by Riverence with a keen focus on genetics, superior fish as food, and a desire to decrease carbon emissions compared to other food sources like cattle. The company’s unique dedication to serving the environment and native habitat governed by science, ethics, and fish health have made Riverence—a wordplay on river and reverence—the kingfisher of Idaho trout.

Riverence is an egg-to-table purveyor of hormone-free, ethically-raised rainbow and steelhead trout (a cousin to Idaho’s other big fish, salmon). Their product has made a big splash with top chefs at fine restaurants, selling the whitefleshed variety and the heritage fish with a reddish-hue to their flesh. The red flesh of trout is accomplished by feeding them naturally-derived carotenoids, the same algae food source that give flamingos their pink color. Pink flesh, however, is not considered desirable; deep red is the most desirable and tasty.

Rainbow trout, ready for Riverence harvest, swim in pristine waters from the Idaho aquifer.

Riverence swims upstream, counter to the corporate Big Agra mindset, and creates a stunningly delicious end product. Their method minimizes environmental pollution and threats like depletion of the wild fish stocks from overfishing, rising water temperatures, loss of habitat, and toxicity in the oceans. Riverence’s approach incorporates careful genetic selection and a proprietary feed made in the USA that not only boosts the fish’s health and Omega-3 levels but also takes enormous pressure off fish in the wild. Riverence even composts and recycles the fish’s waste and gives it free to farmers.

And even with high-profile chefs like Andrew Zimmern, who is on record touting the excellence of Riverence trout, there is a stigma when “farmed fish” is mentioned. But Riverence in the Magic Valley is a marvel of dramatic terrain carved by the Snake River Canyon, boasting the Blue Lakes aquifer and Crystal Springs, which has pristine potable water pouring out of the Idaho ground. You can even see the spot where Evel Knievel attempted to jump the canyon!

But seeing Riverence at work raising healthy fish is as stunning as the topography.

One woman carefully watches over and hand-feeds the fish at one of the hatcheries from the egg to the small fry stage, kept carefully in a facility replete with descending spring-fed water courses. It’s a literal trout nursery, with 400,000 fish being produced per month.

Riverence is the largest land-based producer of fresh trout in the U.S. with 14 Idaho trout farms.

PHOTO BY KAREN DAY

Idaho’s continuous clean water sources provide the environment the “troutlets” or “fry” need to flourish. The Thousand Springs Scenic Byway and surrounding towns like Buhl explode with drinkable at-the-source 58-degree water, with the Riverence farms situated close by so that gravity pulls that consistent flow down the contained raceways where the fish are grown to maturity. Their runs are thoroughly cleaned weekly and fish waste is vacuumed up, composted, and sent free of charge to farmers nearby. As a result, nature remains unsullied, the wild fish stock can replenish naturally, and people will dine on tasty, clean trout with enormous heart and brain-boosting nutrients.

Of late, Riverence Provisions and Riverence Farms—the United States’ largest trout producers—have achieved certification from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council. Not an easy feat, ASC’s sea green label can only appear on seafood from farms independently assessed and certified as environmentally and socially responsible. It takes a long time to achieve this strict certification. Still, Todd English, Vice President of sustainability at Riverence Provisions, shared the company ethos, which has taken them to this certification on a walking tour with our IdaHome team at their facilities in the Magic Valley.

He noted the secret to their success. “It’s Idaho’s water. That’s why we’re here. We borrow the water and efficiently raise healthy fish and remove most of the waste from that water through settling ponds that allow uneaten food or fecal matter to drop to the bottom. The water returns clear to the rivers. Other nutrients are absorbed by native plants and become cover and food for waterfowl. We provide a lot of habitat for wildlife.”

Todd English, Vice President of Sustainability at Riverence, focuses on best practices to maintain the environment, offer local employment opportunities, and raise the best rainbow, steelhead, and golden trout.

PHOTO BY KAREN DAY

Noting Idaho’s good fortune for plentiful water, English added, “There are only a few places on the planet where this type of geology exists, the access to an aquifer. I believe it is just Iran, Turkey, and Idaho. People’s perception of aquaculture is that fish swim in dirty, muddy ponds. But our fish are in crystal clear water at a consistent 58 degrees. You can see the bottom of a 50-foot-deep river here. And that’s why Riverence trout taste so good. The technologies we employ create a better strain of fish without genetic engineering, just careful genetic selection. The feed can have a considerable impact. So we revamped the feed here in Idaho for these trout from North American-certified sources. We minimize our use of fish meal and fish oil, which is one of the significant challenges with aquaculture. Back in the eighties, the fish feed would contain upwards of 70, 80% fish meal and fish oil caught from Peru or the Gulf of Mexico. But those days are over. We’re below 10% fish meal and fish oil from wild forage fisheries. And so the reason that we want to reduce that is because of the impacts on the ocean. But fish need that fish meal and fish oil. So we’re using fish meal and oil derived from the processing wastes of wild fisheries in our feed—trimmings in Alaska or haddock fisheries on the East Coast— heads, racks, and frames are ground into a fish meal and fish oil for aquaculture. Another is soldier fly larvae as a replacement for fish meal. There’s also a company called Veramaris that ferments the algae that creates a fish oil replacement rich in Omega-3s. We use some of that in our fish feed, allowing us to use less fish oil. So fewer resources, less need, and making sure that what we do keeps the impact on the fish and the environment very low.”

English is optimistic about Riverence’s low-impact footprint and the public’s desire for more healthy, tasty fish as wild species are on the wane and environmental concerns rightly on the rise. “We take the pressure off the wild stock and allow people to not go without a fantastic tasting fish. Currently, Riverence produces about 20 million pounds a year, and we want to grow that in the future.”

For more information, visit riverence.com and follow Riverence on Twitter and Instagram at @RiverenceUSA.