“For us to see the province of B.C. highlight aquaculture is something we’re very proud of,” – Jade Berg, director of marketing and innovation for Golden Eagle Sablefish.
By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews
Golden Eagle Sablefish is having a moment that has been more than two decades in the making.
Fresh off being named AgTech winner at the recent 2025 B.C. Export Awards, the British Columbia-based producer of premium sablefish, is accelerating plans to expand production, deepen global market reach, and cement its position as the world’s only egg-to-plate sablefish producer.
For a company operating in one of the province’s most scrutinized food sectors, the recognition is more than a trophy. It signals growing acceptance of aquaculture as a strategic export industry and validates a model Golden Eagle has quietly refined since 2005.
“For us to see the province of B.C. highlight aquaculture is something we’re very proud of,” said Jade Berg, director of marketing and innovation for Golden Eagle Sablefish.
“For me it’s a sign that the province is beginning to take aquaculture seriously as an industry with real potential,” the Campbell River-based chef said.
Golden Eagle Sablefish occupies a singular niche in global seafood and its fish farms are rated ‘Green, Best Choice’ by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Watch program and recommended by Ocean Wise.
It remains the only company in the world raising sablefish, also known as black cod, from egg to harvest at commercial scale. The process begins in a state-of-the-art hatchery on Salt Spring Island and continues through a 2 to 2.5-year grow-out cycle in the deep, cold waters of Kyuquot Sound on Vancouver Island’s west coast.
That full control over the lifecycle has produced something the wild fishery cannot which is a premium black cod that can be safely consumed raw without freezing, opening the door to sashimi, crudo, and dry-aged applications at the highest end of the culinary market.
“Our fish are placed in Michelin-star restaurants, white-tablecloth dining rooms, and premium sushi counters,” Berg said. “The ability to consume this fish raw takes something familiar and turns it into a blank canvas.”
Chefs have taken notice. Some are dry-aging Golden Eagle sablefish for up to two weeks before serving it raw, a practice almost unheard of in seafood and a testament to both quality and shelf life.
“The freshness, clean taste and decadent fat content allows me to utilize the fish in so many ways. It’s easy to see how much care and hard work goes into the investment of raising these beautiful fish,” states Nick Zocco, a multi-time James Beard award nominee and executive chef of Urban Hill in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Golden Eagle’s growth story is, at its core, an export story.
Roughly 70 percent of production is shipped into the United States, with weekly exports also moving into Japan, Europe, and Singapore. Canada remains a smaller but growing domestic market.
Japan, where sablefish is prized as a luxury staple, has become a proving ground for the company’s premium positioning. Golden Eagle’s farmed product commands consistent pricing and reliability that wild supply cannot match.
“At around the $11-a-pound mark from us to the distributor, we’re firmly in the premium category,” Berg said, noting that downstream handling and branding further elevate the product in market.
The company is now focused on reducing reliance on any single geography. Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea, is a growing priority as Golden Eagle ramps up both volume and brand recognition.
That diversification strategy is closely tied to expansion on the water.
Golden Eagle currently operates two active sablefish farms in Kyuquot Sound, both licensed through to 2030 and operated in partnership with the Kyuquot-Checleseht First Nation.
The company is now nearing the next milestone, which is the potential development of a third farm site through Tiicma Fisheries, a venture wholly owned by the First Nation. The proposed facility at Hohoae Island, also in Kyuquot Sound, is in the regulatory application phase and would add new production capacity while maintaining the same Indigenous partnership framework.
That model has become a cornerstone of Golden Eagle’s identity, pairing long-term economic opportunities for the Kyuquot-Checleseht Nation with a shared commitment to environmental stewardship.
It mirrors how salmon farmers in B.C. operate through agreements with First Nations that assert title, exercise jurisdiction, and embed aquaculture into Indigenous-led economic strategies.
While ocean salmon farms in British Columbia face a Trudeau-era federally mandated phase-out by 2029, sablefish aquaculture is explicitly excluded from that policy.
The B.C. Export Award adds a new layer of visibility at a pivotal moment for Golden Eagle’s president, Terry Brooks, who has been perfecting the culture of sablefish for over 25 years.
Brooks has driven steady, infrastructure-driven growth rather than rapid expansion with Golden Eagle and that patience now appears to be paying off as global demand for high-quality, traceable seafood continues to rise.
“When people think high-quality sablefish, we want Golden Eagle to be the first name that comes to mind,” Berg said.
With a third farm on the horizon, expanding export corridors, and a growing reputation among the world’s top chefs, Golden Eagle Sablefish is no longer just a niche innovator in B.C. aquaculture.
It is fast becoming a global benchmark for what premium, sustainable fish farming can look like when science, stewardship, and market discipline move in the same direction.
Main image (Lto R) shows Jade Berg, director of marketing and innovation for Golden Eagle Sablefish, Chef Nick Zocco, a multi-time James Beard award nominee and Golden Eagle’s president, Terry Brooks.