From a Dream to the Most Recognized Maine Smoked Seafood Brand
Des Fitzgerald found a spot of land on the Kendall Brook in Lincolnville, Maine, and he built a bungalow for himself and his dog, Caleb. In the beginning, Des wanted to farm trout.
In 1978, he built several water runs and raised trout successfully for a few years, selling to the local restaurants and markets. Ducktrap River Fish Farm, named for the river into which the Kendall Brook flows, was born. This was the beginning of a journey, which started as a dream from a boy and his dog, that built a nationally recognized smoked seafood brand: Ducktrap.
Ducktrap River Fish Farm, named for the river into which the Kendall Brook flows, was born.
Trout farming in Maine was perilous and after endlessly mending the nets that barely slowed down marauding otters, raccoons, skunks, and owls, Des decided to experiment with smoking some of his trout. He contacted the Federal Government to receive a booklet on how to build a smoker and smoke fish.
Another building went up on his property, this time a smokehouse the size of a small icehouse (4’ x 4’). Des buried an old wood stove in the ground of the smokehouse and started smoking trout.
Selling his smoked trout to local markets, Des achieved an amazing level of success, not knowing at the time he would develop a brand that would one day become known among some of the best smoked seafood in the industry.
Over the next five years, a line of high quality, wholesome smoked seafood was developed using traditional European smoking methods. Some of these products were little known to the food industry: to the best of our knowledge, we were one of the first companies to smoke mussels.
Over 40 years, Ducktrap River of Maine has gone from two workers to 100+ employees. What started as a small trout farm selling to local businesses has blossomed into a full scale 125,000 sq. ft. smoked seafood campus. Today all 4 of our brands (Ducktrap, Kendall Brook, Winter Harbor, Spruce Point) are sold across the United States and in Canada.
From our strict HACCP program to our long term employee loyalty, we are proud to introduce ourselves to you.
Ducktrap continues to grow while staying true to our roots. The customer base that started with local shops and restaurants in Mid-coast Maine has grown to include a wide variety of seafood wholesalers, food distributors, retail chains, independent stores, restaurants and hotels across the U.S. and Canada.
As a smokehouse located on the rocky coast of Maine, we provide our customers with high quality smoked seafood using a flavorful brine, wood smoke and fresh ocean air.
Mowi is the largest producer of Atlantic salmon in the world and one of the world’s leading seafood companies, enabling us to source a steady supply of the best seafood available.
Next to some 250 salmon farms in Norway, Scotland, Ireland, the Faroe Islands, Canada and Chile, the Mowi Group also owns some 35 fish and seafood processing plants in Europe, Asia and on the American continent. Mowi operates in 25 countries around the world and its total staff count amounted to over 14,500 employees at the end of 2018.
Mowi, the parent company of Ducktrap River, is a proud organization that brings the best technology and process to bring the best fish selection and other seafood species to the world. From Smoked, Fresh and Never Frozen options, to refreshed, frozen and much more we are specialists in fish sourced and / or farmed in different parts of the world.
Ducktrap River and Mowi offer delicious fish products made by people with a passion for their profession. We process the best fish in a variety of formats, shapes and sizes to appeal to families. Our objective is to find solutions that make fish a delightful experience while offering freshness and quality.
