Select Farm salmon

Fresh fish for you to enjoy with a clear conscience

Waitrose Select Farm salmon sites are sited in clean, oceanic waters with strong tidal flows. Strong tidal sites keep the seabed clean and also help encourage lean and fit fish as they swim in the current, resulting in firmer flesh. Long-term working partnerships have been established between Waitrose and the farmers. This allows for long-term planning and early adoption of practices that lead to improved quality and sustainability of the farming operation.

To ensure the farm is having limited impact on the environment, submerged cameras are used to watch the fish feeding and allow the farmer to ensure minimal, if any, feed is falling on to the seabed as this can cause pollution. The farmer can stop feeding the fish when he can see that feeding is slowing up. The latest feeder designs include features that prevent any food from falling on the seabed. On a six monthly basis the farmer will arrange for a survey to be carried out on the seabed around the site to assess the richness of the environment.

When salmon farms are properly located they can actually result in an increase in other marine species including economically important ones such as prawns, clams, crabs and rockfish. Waitrose works hard with its supplier to ensure sites are situated in appropriate locations such as these.

Select Farm sites are situated away from the mouths of salmon rivers, to reduce interaction between wild and farmed salmon.

Waitrose is the only retailer to have a fully integrated product range with all the salmon sold in Waitrose comes from the Select Farm scheme.

Waitrose smoked salmon

Our Select Farm salmon are reared in the fast flowing, deep tidal waters around Scotland, where the strong currents help to produce lean, healthy fish, ideal for smoking.

To guarantee only the best salmon reaches the smokehouse our Scottish select farm salmon is carefully graded. At our dedicated smokehouse the fish are split and hand sprinkled with a mixture of salt and sugar and left to absorb this mixture for several hours before being rinsed. The fish are then smoked, trimmed, sliced and interleaved for prefect serving every time.

Oak smoked - the salmon is smoked gently over smouldering oak pieces for up to 10 hrs, giving it a light delicate flavour.

Peat and heather Scottish smoked salmon - The salmon is traditionally hung and kiln smoked for up to 24 hrs over a unique blend of birch, heather, peat and sweet gale, giving it a subtly sweet distinctively smoky flavour and firm texture.

Organic Orkney salmon - the salmon are farmed to the Soil Association standards in the waters of Westray in the Orkney Islands. The salmon is kiln smoked over oak pieces giving it a light delicate flavour.

Wild Alaskan salmon - the wild sockeye salmon come from the pristine waters of Alaska, from a fishery which has been certified to the Marine Stewardship Council's environmental standards for well-managed and sustainable fishery. The salmon is kiln smoked for up to 24hrs over smouldering oak pieces from malt whisky barrels. The smoky flavour complements the dense velvety texture of the wild salmon.

Waitrose smoked trout

Our premium Scottish trout are farmed in the clear tidal waters around Scotland, the environment helps to produce lean, healthy fish, ideal for smoking.

The trout is kiln smoked for up to 10 hours over gently smouldering oak pieces giving it a delicate, subtle flavour and melt in the mouth texture. It is then trimmed, sliced and interleaved for perfect serving every time.

The healthy option

Like all oily fish, salmon is a good source of protein and is rich in omega 3 fats. These fats may help to maintain a healthy heart, when they are eaten as part of a healthy, balanced diet. Try to include at least two portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily.