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.
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- Meat, Specialty Meat DR144
Salmon, Smoked Sliced Side, Spruce Point 2/~2.5# $/#
- Revered by chefs and connoisseurs worldwide, Ducktrap is the gourmet prize of smoked salmon and is a mark of unequaled excellence. Always made from fresh salmon, fully trimmed by hand, individually inspected, and with no brown meat and all fat removed.
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- Meat, Specialty Meat DR104
Salmon, Smoked Wild Sockeye 8/4oz
- Ducktrap Smoked Wild Sockeye Salmon has been carefully sourced from the most responsible fisheries and each fillet is selected for superior quality. We have created the perfect brine for the wild salmon to accentuate and highlight the particular flavor notes typical for wild product.
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