Waves Pacific Ltd. is Hong Kong’s exclusive supplier of Ōra King salmon, a unique breed raised in harmony with nature for the utmost in culinary excellence.
“I really like the texture and the richness,” says Chef Shane Osborn about Ōra King salmon. “People describe it as the Wagyu beef of the seafood world.”
Osborn, who serves as an Ōra King brand ambassador, speaks from professional experience as chef patron of Michelin-starred restaurant Arcane. He and other top chefs at Hong Kong’s leading restaurants, as well as the city’s discerning home cooks, look to Waves Pacific as their preferred source for the highest-quality and sustainably produced international products, including New Zealand’s premier farm-raised king salmon.
“The beautiful thing about Ōra King,” says Osborn, “is that when you roast and caramelize it, it gets slightly crispy on the outside and buttery and soft on the inside.” These flavorful and sumptuous qualities are the natural result of Ōra King’s meticulous production process that focuses on sustainability, which for Ōra King is more than a trendy buzzword.
Consumers’ assurance of the quality and sustainability of Ōra King salmon is built on trust in every link of a chain that leads back from table to hatchery. The company adheres to the requirements of Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), an international third-party certification program for environmentally responsible fish farming, the only global aquaculture criteria to cover the entire production chain. An independent expert auditor is sent onsite to verify that each operation is meeting strict seafood production standards.
BAP has awarded Ōra King its highest four-star rating, ensuring that from processing plant to farm, from hatchery to feed mill, the total production chain is 100 percent compliant with hundreds of best practices requirements encompassing food safety and worker welfare as well as the conservation of nature's resources. Escape-prevention measures are taken, effluent is treated, and IUU raw materials are excluded from feed.
Ōra King’s breeding program starts at its freshwater facility where king salmon eggs are nurtured and hatched in waters from pristine Te Waikoropupū Springs. The smolt are then matured in fast-flowing sea currents of Marlborough Sounds before the top-quality salmon are selected by a master grader, branded Ōra King, and numbered for traceability.
Chefs like Shane Osborn trust Waves Pacific to seek out and supply the world’s finest and most environmentally responsible products, including Ōra King. Waves Pacific puts its trust in Ōra King’s stringent production methods, which in turn are founded on trust in BAP’s industry-setting standards. And it is this collaborative and unwavering commitment to ethical and sustainable practices on the part of everyone involved that ensures that nutritious and delicious Ōra King salmon will continue to be enjoyed by generations far into the future.