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KELLEY HOT SPRINGS FISHERY

THE NORTHWEST’S PREMIER PRODUCER OF FRESHWATER TILAPIA

Smoked and Frozen Tilapia Fillets

FAMILY CARED FOR & SUSTAINABLY RAISED

Confidence in the Source, Quality & Freshness of Your Fish

In 1999 Ron Ketler was making the 80 mile drive from Merrill, OR to Alturas, CA when he noticed steam rising from a green pasture lined with pine trees.  With a background in raising fish for market in central California, he knew that natural, geothermally heated springs presented the optimum conditions for raising the highest quality fish here in the United States.

By the Fall of 2000, the Ketler family was leading a small partnership that purchased the rural ranch and began raising warm water fish for the wholesale live-fish markets in Portland and San Francisco as Kelley Hot Spring Fish Incorporated.  With his wife Julie, son Jake and daughter Sarah, Ron proceeded to develop a technically advanced facility that recirculated their warm water and mixed it with precipitation captured in the large ponds fed by the hotspring.  The ponds, pumps, water treatment facility and fish tanks make up a closed system that sustainably raises the highest quality fish while protecting the surface waters of the Northwest.

Over 75% of the fish that is domestically consumed comes from outside the United States and beyond the quality control eyes of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).   Foreign fish farms may operate with little governmental oversight as it pertains to environmental pollution, preserving wild fish stocks and supply chain responsibility.  Once in the U.S., determining where the fish comes from beyond the Country of origin is nearly impossible.

In response to the demand for quality fish with a clear supply chain responsibility, the Ketler Family at Kelley Hot Springs Fishery has retained the services of a nearby Oregon based fish processor (OR License #AG-L1076379 FP) to process and ship our fish directly to the our customers nationwide.  We welcome the Oregon Royal Sturgeon Company to our retail team!

Frozen & Smoked Tilapia

Our Tilapia are OVERSIZED for a reason!

Four to six pound fish provide larger and thicker fillets that yield more meat for dinner and less waste! The additional thickness also produces a smoked fillet that is consistently moist and tasty!

Each Tilapia Fillet averages around one pound in size prior to cooking!

SMOKED TILAPIA fillets are put in our special brine for 12 hours then smoked for six hours over apple wood chips.

  • Amazing Taste

    With the taste and texture of Pacific Rock Fish, our Tilapia are a fresh water fish that to a large degree, is a vegetarian. One of the most common sustainably raised fish in the world, it has only recently become appreciated in the U.S. for it’s great taste and excellent value. A simple grilling of the fish without spice of any kind brings out a clean, mild taste that continually seems to delight the first time taster.

    Smoked Talapia is amazing and has it’s deepest roots in South America and Africa where the entire fish is routinely smoked. Our smoked Tilapia is a skin-on fillet that has been brined and smoked over Applewood chips.

  • Grown sustainably

    Our Tilapia and Bass are raised in circular tanks utilizing state-of-the-art technology and facilities that do not touch or diminish the natural water of our streams or lakes in any way.

    Our families live within a quarter of a mile of the hatchery which utilizes a computerized fish health monitoring system that checks water quality, oxygen levels and temperature continuously. Should anyof the fish health parameters be exceeded the computers phone our homes at night and set off alarms during the day. The health of our fish is paramount.

  • Premium Quality

    The team at Kelley Hot Springs Fishery control each step in our Tilapia and Bass’ life cycle. We are personally involved with the hatch of tens of thousands of eggs followed hand raising the fish until they reach the market size of 2 to 5 pounds. From hatching the fry through FDA and CDF&W licensed processing; our customers can depend upon consistent, unsurpassed quality.

  • Health Benefits

    Talapia and Bass both contain Omega 3s, Vitamin A, B12, and other nutrients that help promote strong bones, teeth, and a healthy immune system.

    As an economical, mild tasting fish product that can be prepared in many ways, it is may be eaten moreoften in a diet focused on low cholesterol. This in turn provides the benefits our body needs on a more regular basis!