Fish farmer Donald J. Sadue sells thousands of his rainbow trout every year for school aquaculture programs and for stocking, but he can't offer his wares to restaurants or grocery stores.
"Most of the ones you see in the stores come from Idaho," Mr. Sadue said. "New York hasn't wanted fishermen catching sports fish and selling them to a restaurant. It's like saying you can't sell maple syrup that's made in New York, that you have to get it from Vermont."
A pending state bill would legalize the sale of hatchery-raised food-size trout and black bass to third-party vendors. If the bill passes, Mr. Sadue plans to raise 50,000 to 60,000 fish for the restaurant trade and assumes other small operations would open up.
"There are people who would like to get into it, but not with the limited market of stocking," Mr. Sadue said. "My priority is to get this law passed. That opens up so many opportunities."
Read the complete story at the Watertown Daily Times.