Vancouver, Canada
Over 800 delegates are here this week at the Agora Financial Symposium, a whopper of a conference with dozens of keynote speakers. I'll be speaking later this morning just ahead of Bill Bonner and right after Dr. Marc Faber. My topic: The Destruction of Credit, Part II and How to Avoid the Growing Debt Trap Engulfing the Public Sector.
British Columbia is a beautiful province. I flew to Vancouver directly from Montreal yesterday on Air Canada (A321) – about 5 ½ hours. The weather has been perfect.
The best wild salmon is right here in British Columbia. An endangered species across the world, wild salmon can still be netted in B.C. and boy, is it good! I enjoyed a terrific dinner in Vancouver last night with my old friend and colleague, Karim Rahemtulla, probably the best options trader in the business. Karim will be our M.C. this fall at Offshore Academy in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
The population of many fish species continues to decline. Most of the fish we consume nowadays is largely farmed and that's not the healthiest fish available. Unfortunately, man has overfished for decades, reducing or destroying populations around the world in the name of profit and over-consumption. As a result, wild salmon is now an endangered species.
Last year, I made numerous trips to Oslo, Norway. I met with several banks and brokers and learned about Norwegian fish farms – many quite profitable. I was immediately intrigued and after conducting some due diligence on the sector, realized I was too late. Fish farming stocks had already doubled or tripled off the early 2009 lows.
In Oslo, you can't get wild salmon. That's incredibly bizarre considering Norway is surrounded by the North Sea. The problem is that virtually all available fish stocks today are farmed, not wild. If you can get wild salmon, you'll pay dearly.
There's no doubt in my mind that man is rapidly wiping-out many fish species. The popularity of sushi shops over the last past decade everywhere has dramatically boosted demand while some of the most popular sushi dishes, like blue fin tuna, is heading the way of the dinosaur.
Check out Marine Harvest (MHG) in Oslo. The stock is now considerably below its 52-week high and has rallied sharply recently. Marine Harvest is the world's largest farmed salmon company. Last trade: NOK 4.89 ($0.78).
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