The reel smoked salmon of Port Hardy

January 25 2012

This is one reality show that doesn’t smell fishy. . .well, perhaps a bit.

Hardy Buoys in Port Hardy have been reeled in by the CBC for a new reality show.

From the minds that brought you Dragons Den comes The Big Decision: a new show that searches out businesses in Canada struggling or stalling and in need of a jump start.

The concept: that every episode one of two “Dragons,“or in this case investors, Arlene Dickenson and Jim Treviling will visit struggling, established, businesses around Canada. They will offer up advice and decide whether or not to invest in the business based on a certain criteria being met.

Arlene Dickenson found Hardy Buoys from a cast of hundreds of businesses that met the shows criteria.

“There was a whole bunch of elements of their story I found quite interesting,” explained Dickenson. “It’s a family run business, that has been in business for 20-years, and is a real integral part of the community.”

One of the aspects of the show is that each of the business is issued challenges by the investor, that business must meet the challenge in order to qualify for the investment.

Dickenson hopes she can help Hardy Buoys grow as a business. “We’ll be looking to see if we can get the community rallied around this company. We’ll see if the community can play a roll in trying to help raise awareness and sales for them.”

Some back ground on Hardy Bouys:

-They handle all type of seafood but mainly local Salmon, In particular smoked and Candied Salmon.

-Every one who has tried it, including Arlene, thinks it is amazing.

-It was founded in 1994 by Bruce and Carol Dirom who are still the owners.

-It began as just a four person operation in a 700 square ft shack with just one smoker.

-The company has grown to a 2500 sq ft operation employing more than fifty people.

-They hire locally, and have expanded their operation to include whole sale shipping. But they still offer smoking and candy treating for those who want it done to the fish they catch themselves.

-Recently the company has reached a hard decision and is struggling a bit to find what the next step is to make their business grow.

By Jet FM newsroom